Chapter 16

The air was festive. The two weeks leading to the wedding had been filled with frantic arrangements. Michelle had hired a team of wedding planners, and a romantic theme had been established.

Reporters had been feeding the public speculations, thoughts, and truths. The double suicide on the cruise ship, the same one where the wedding was to take place, had been romanticized.

An elderly couple who had decided to go out together, and now the owner of the cruise ship and his childhood sweetheart were getting married on that same ship.

The buzz was high, not to mention the fact that the exquisite model was the face of the new line of Romano's lingerie, and her face was on billboards all over the country. The internet and various social media had her photoshoots, and the anticipation of the upcoming magazine was high.

She had been bombarded by the press, but Celeste was used to it, and nothing mattered except that she was marrying the love of her life.

"No strippers," Celeste said firmly. In spite of her protest, her friends were throwing her a wedding shower in the gardens of the quaint new restaurant that Kelly owns.

"You are no fun, darling," Kelly said with a grin. We had some really buffed brothers lined up to entertain us."

"We can be entertained by talking trash and drinking wine."

So, that was what they were doing. She was old-fashioned enough to spend the night at her brother's place, overriding Rylan's protest.

"I want to do it right."

"I refuse to spend the night without you."

"It will make the honeymoon all the more special. I need this, darling." Her voice had weakened him, and he had reluctantly capitulated.

"Just think—by this time tomorrow, I will be an old married woman," Celeste murmured, sticking to one glass of champagne. She gazed at the women sprawled on the various cushions and chairs provided for the event.

All around them, the scent of flowers blooming and the sound of the brook bubbling over stones made a perfect ambiance. "Any advice?"

"Keep the romance going," Leesa told her.

"And no matter how busy you get, make time for each other," Kelly added.

"Take trips together, away from everyone else." Monique lifted her glass in a toast.

"And be his best friend," Amber added with a grin. "Adam and I were friends before we became lovers, and we used to tell each other everything. But you know exactly what I mean.' She looked at Celeste. "You and Rylan were childhood sweethearts."

"And it went wrong." She responded soberly.

"Fortunately, you worked things out." Amani pointed out.

"And I have a surprise for my darling." Patting a hand over her flat stomach, she smiled at the girls.

"Oh my God!" Kelly screamed. "No wonder you have been nursing that one glass of champagne. I was about to comment on it."

"He doesn't know?" Stacy asked, dark brown eyes twinkling.

"Not a word. I had done a check several years ago, and I was cautioned that it might be difficult for me to conceive. I have always suffered from hormonal problems and had terrible cramps when menstruating.

Ever since Rylan and I got back together, I have been seeing Dr. Jones, a specialist, and he told me that I was perfectly capable of having children. Girls, I am two months pregnant." She had to blink the tears away.

"When do you plan on telling him?" Leesa demanded.

"Tomorrow night."

"How do you think he will react?"

Celeste looked at Kelly. "Over the moon, like I am. Oh, guys, I have always wanted to have his children."

"How many are you planning?" Amber asked teasingly.

"Four." She laughed breathlessly. "But I will settle for two."

*****

The setting was decidedly informal. The ceremony was taking place on the main deck of the ship. There were chairs stocked around the huge pool for the guests to sit, and the caterers hired for the event were paying attention to the needs of the three hundred guests invited for the occasion. A helicopter circled the ship, which was docked at port.

The bride and her attendants were getting ready in one of the main cabins, and the groom was already standing a few feet from the pool, waiting for his bride.

He was wearing cargo shorts, white tees, and a flawlessly cut dinner jacket in smoky gray. His blonde hair was brushed back from his face, and the guests seated noticed that he was discreetly checking his watch.

Straightening his shoulders when the live band struck up the wedding march, he trained his eyes on the opening where the wedding party would be coming from.

Passing a cursory glance over the bevy of beauties dressed in flimsy covering over their bathing suits, he felt his entire body clenched in awareness when the guests rose at the request of the Captain performing the ceremony.

Rylan felt his heart stop - literally stopped and was strangled inside his chest. She wore a stunning white bathing suit, and over it flowed a sheer white lace that hugged her slender curves from neck to ankles.

Her hair was loose, the thick golden-brown curls bouncing with health. A jaunty white hat with real flowers at the edges was placed on one side, covering the left side of her forehead. Her dazzling smile was for him alone as she walked on her brother's arm towards him.

He had no idea he had moved from his position or completely ignored her brother. He had eyes only for her. Taking her left hand, he brought it to his lips, emotions storming into his eyes.

"What do you think?" She asked him huskily.

"I think that I must have died and gone to heaven. You cannot be real."

"I am very real and impatient to be your wife."

"Then let's get this over with."

*****

The sounds of revelry permeated the air, along with the constant splashes of water from the pool. The ceremony was over, and Rylan and Celeste were now husband and wife.

The vows that bind them to each other for the rest of their lives had been said, and the towering pink champagne cake had been cut by the bride and groom. The weather was perfect, the sun shining brilliantly from a cerulean blue sky.

She removed the robe and replaced her strappy white sandals for pool wear. Her husband had gotten rid of the jacket and indulged his bride by jumping into the pool to frolic with her and their friends.

Now they were cuddled up on one of the chaises, and he was insisting that she eat something substantial. "Aside from the slices of cake and a little champagne, you have not eaten anything," he rebuked her gently, handing her the plate of seafood.

"I have something to tell you, and I would like to go to our cabin now."

He stared at her. "Now? We have guests." He pointed out.

"And I am pretty sure they would not mind." Pushing out of his arms, she took his hand. "I am not feeling well," she added, knowing that would galvanize him into action, and she was right.

Scooping her into his arms to the cheers and encouragements of the crowd, he carried her to their cabin, where he put her on the wide bunk covered with a colorful quilt.

"Is it a migraine? Was the excitement of the two weeks too much?" He was searching her face for some signs that she was suffering.

"It was just enough." Taking his hand, she placed it on her flat stomach and lifted eyes shining with tears to his. "In March this year, say in the middle of the month, we will add to our family."

His entire body went still, his eyes boring into hers as the impact of the news hit him full force.

"Darling?" Her voice had an edge of anxiety as he remained silent. "I hope I am not the only one in heaven over the news."

"You are pregnant. With my baby." He had to swallow the lump in his throat.

"Yes. Two months."

"Darling." He was unable to compose a proper sentence, but she understood completely.

"I wanted this so much, and now it's happening."

"I love you!" He said fiercely, preparing to gather her close when he hesitated. "You were not feeling well."

"Just a little dizziness."

"And you have not eaten." He started to rise, but she tugged him back down.

"I am fine. And I want to celebrate the news with my husband."

"I am your husband." His voice was thick with passion.

Lifting her left hand, she watched the diamonds and emeralds sparkling on her ring finger.

"This proves that I am, as well as the certificate that we signed."

In two weeks, he and his mother had accomplished a lot, getting their assistants and a team of wedding planners to plan a spectacular event that the press could not get enough of.

"Are you just going to sit there?"

"I think I should make you some tea." He was still worried she was not well.

"We need to celebrate, and I would love it if my husband gets naked and climbs into bed with me. It so happens to be my wedding day."

"Our wedding day." He corrected her. He undressed slowly, letting go of her hand and keeping his eyes on her face.

He was down to his underwear, his fingers tugging at the waist when she sat up and untied the strings of her bikini top, sending the material fluttering to the ground. Her breasts, slightly scrunched up from being in the water too long, rose proudly under his intent and passion-filled gaze.

He waited for her to take off the bottom before he peeled off his shorts and soggy underwear.

The shrinkage from the water was no longer an issue, she noticed, her skin heating up as she allowed her gaze to travel the length of his torso and down to the hairs covering his very impressive sex, which was now surging even more under her watchful eyes.

Her heart skittered inside her chest when he used a hand to wrap around the thick length of him. Using his fingers, he slowly pulled the foreskin back and forth before trailing a finger over the reddened tip.

His eyes never left her face, and he felt the rampaging passion surging inside him at the avid look on her exquisite face. He was going to make sure that she was all right before he made love to her. He had plans - ones that included using her delectable body well into the night.

"Are you ready, darling?" His finger was caressing the tip, circling slowly.

"I am wet." To prove that she was, his beautiful and sexy wife dipped a hand between her thighs, and he watched- the breath backing up inside his throat as she slid a long, elegant finger into herself. It was more than he could bear.

"Are you?" He asked thickly.

"Completely." Removing the finger, she held it up as evidence.

"I need to taste to make sure."

"Calling me a liar, darling?" She asked huskily.

"I just need the absolute proof." Bending his knee on the bed, he took her hand by the wrist and closed his mouth over the finger she held up.

"Well?" She asked huskily, feeling like she was about to burst into flames.

"Just a little more-" he continued to suck on the finger until she thought she was going to faint from longing. "You were right. I still need to know more." Pushing her back on the pillows, he climbed over her and started from her neck before going to her throat.

"My breasts." She gasped.

"What about them?" He was kissing the hollow of her throat, his tongue licking the skin.

"They are very sensitive."

"Are they?"

"Yes." Her fingers clutched at his shoulders, and his body arching toward him. "Do you know what I thought when walking towards you earlier?"

"No. What were you thinking, my love?" he was kissing the top of her breast and heading to the rigid nipple.

"That here was the man of my dreams. My soon-to-be husband, and when he slides himself deep inside me, he is going to be doing so as mine, legally mine."

He felt his body shuddering at her words, and they were the catalyst that had him tugging the nipple into his mouth, his teeth torturing the sensitive skin.

He suckled earnestly, his mind on the realization that in several months, his baby would be suckling from her. The idea of it, the thrill it evoked inside him, sent his passion to unparalleled heights and had him gorging.

A startled cry echoed around the room as Celeste, a willing victim to a desire that far surpassed anything she had ever known, clutched him to her, body vibrating, heart thundering inside her chest like a jackhammer.

She could not get enough and felt when the sparks ignited into full-blown fire as he switched to the other nipple and gave it the same enthusiastic and hungry attention. By the time he had drifted to her sex, she was a writhing mass of emotions so powerful and draining that she could not control herself.

As soon as his tongue dipped inside her, she came. The climax was so earth-shattering that she almost shoved him off her trembling body. Clamping his hands on her hips, he kept her steady as he ruthlessly tongued her until she was out of her mind.

By the time he had climbed on top of her, she was sobbing, the tears coursing down her cheeks.

The sight of his mate, his life partner, his wife, the woman he loved more than anything in the world, so shaken by the pleasure he was giving her, sent him into a wild tailspin, and his restraint, the one he had been tenuously holding onto, slipped away completely.

He drove into her with a force that shoved her head into the headboard, his face taut and hard with passion. Lowering his head, he seized her lips hungrily, his thrusts becoming even more frenzied.

In the far recesses of his mind, he was trying to tell himself to slow things down, but he was too far gone, and nothing was going to stop him now.

She came again, her slender body surging towards him, her arms wrapped around his neck, fingers digging painfully into his neck and then his shoulders. He came then, his long, lean body shuddering as he poured his seed into her, the climax unending.

Lifting his lips from hers, he buried his face into her neck and felt, to his surprise, the moisture on his face.

He had been completely unaware that he was crying. His body was still shuddering, and he barely felt her hands moving slowly up and down his back as if to soothe him - she had such a powerful effect on him, always had, but now it was even more intense.

Belatedly realizing that he was crushing her and she was pregnant, he shifted onto his side and brought her against his chest. He was still intimately linked to her and was loathed to change that. They remained silent for an eternity before he spoke, his voice hoarse and shaky with emotions. "I almost settled for less than this."

She instinctively knew what he was referring to. "You wouldn't have," she assuredly said.

"How do you know?"

Lifting her head, she stared at the moisture on his hard cheeks, the spikes of tears on his long lashes, and the somber look in his eyes.

"Because we are tied inexplicably to each other." Lifting a hand, she wiped at the moisture gently. "When we made love all those years ago, our spirits were joined. No matter what happened between us, we would have found each other. It was only a matter of time. We felt it From the very first time we gave ourselves to each other.

We were made for each other, and even if we had made it to the altar with someone else, it would have been plain that it was not right." She cupped his face. "You have always been mine, darling. And I have always been yours."

His expression was fiercely tender as he stared at her. "When did you become so damned smart?"

"It's not being smart." She whispered. "It's being insightful enough to know what's the truth. I could never settle without you, Rylan. I felt restless all the years I have been without you as if I did not belong; there was always something missing." she had to blink back the tears.

"It was you. My husband, the heart of me - it was you. You were missing, and I could not settle - I was always searching, and it was you-" She was sobbing, the tears streaming down her cheeks as emotions swamped her.

"Baby, hush." He was shaken. "You are going to make yourself ill." Gathering her against his chest, he held her close, body shuddering. "I know, baby, I know. It's the same for me. I know, sweetness." he soothed her with his hands and words, whispering sweet words in her ear until she was clinging to him.

Within minutes, they were on each other, the lovemaking soft and gentle, the kisses taking them up and over as the climax washed through them like the sea crashing toward the shore. Afterward, he held her against him, his heart and mind sated.

*****

"What do you think?" His wife of six weeks asked as he sat in their living room, staring at the magazine cover. She was almost four months pregnant, and aside from the nausea plaguing her, she was doing very well.

"I think-" Snagging her wrist, he pulled her gently on his lap. "I think I am the proudest husband alive." He kissed her on the mouth before gazing at the cover again. "I also think that every damn male under the age of ninety-nine is going to be lusting after my wife," he added dryly.

"Ninety-nine?" Looping her hands around his neck, she kissed his forehead.

"Perhaps a hundred." His long fingers caressed her spine. "How is the baby?"

"Settling enough for us to go to the premiere tonight." She stared at him with a question in her eyes.

"The new line of lingeries taking the world by storm. Your billboards are all over the place. I cannot drive a mile without seeing your exquisite face."

She trailed a finger over his left cheek, her rings glittering from the lights streaming through the windows. "I promise to model the red teddy for you tonight."

His eyes darkened. "The one with the deep plunging neckline?"

"Yes." She nodded. "What do you think?"

He lifted his hips suggestively. "Does this answer your question?"

"I believe it does." She rotated her lips slowly. "We should do something about this."

"Your stomach-"

"Is fine." Taking the magazine from him, she tossed it aside and kissed him so thoroughly he felt as if the top of his head was about to be blown off.

They did not make it up to the bedroom, of course.

*****

Their son, Nicholas John-James, was born on a blustery day in March. His father, frantic and exhausted from the twelve-hour labor, finally gazed at his seven-pound son, a few minutes old, with an awed expression. "He favors you, darling." He whispered, gently touching the soft cheek lightly.

"He has that weird eye color." She murmured, feeling pleasantly exhausted.

Rylan lifted his head to look at his beautiful wife. She had handled the pregnancy and labor like a trooper, and he was so grateful and humbled by her that he could not find the words. Handing his son to the nurse hovering next to him, he went to her, climbing into bed with her.

His mother, her brother, and several of the wives who had been waiting to hear the news had already left. Now, he was able to be with her and express his immense gratitude for what she had given him.

"Tired, darling?" he whispered, cradling her head against his chest.

"A little bit." She snuggled against him, breathing in his scent. "I love you."

"I adore you," he told her, emotions veering close to the surface. "Thank you for my family."

"That should be my line."

Tilting her chin up, he kissed her tenderly. "Thank you for my life."

The end... but wait:

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