"But what if it's not enough? I'm so nervous, I'm practically sick to my stomach. What if she says 'no'? I don't think I'll be able to handle it."
"She'll say yes, man. Trust me," I assure him.
"Really?" Linc asks and he sounds so pathetically miserable over this whole proposal not working, I start to feel really bad for him.
"Absolutely," Rowan chimes in. "No woman could resist that."
I stow that piece of information away for future reference. I also add, "Quit stressing, Linc. I swear she'll say yes."
Linc lets out a huge sigh and flops back on his towel, eyes raised to the sky. "God, I hope so. I'll be miserable if she says no. I've never been so stressed in my life."
"Stressed over what?" Ever asks as she walks toward us. She's wearing a red bikini top that looks perfect against her pale skin and dark hair, with tiny, white shorts. Yeah... she's beautiful, but she's got nothing on Rowan.
Linc sits up ramrod straight and his mouth hangs open like a dead fish. I can see panic on his face, having no clue what to say. Before I can even swoop in to save him, Rowan says, "Linc was worried about his toast at the wedding dinner. Says he's a bit of a pansy-ass when it comes to public speaking."
I snicker and Linc turns a stunned face toward Rowan. Ever drops down in Linc's lap and his arms wrap around her waist while he rests his chin on her shoulder. He looks at Rowan and mouths the words, Thank You to her, relief swimming in his eyes.
"That's true. Linc hates being the center of attention like that. But you'll do great, baby." Ever leans her head back to look at Linc and he kisses her temple. When she straightens back up, she looks at us. "What do you two have planned today?"
"Just relaxing... but we're actually going to go swimming right now. You want to join us?"
"Nah," Ever says. "I think I just want to lie out here for a while."
Linc chimes in, "What she said."
Standing up from the towel, I hold my hand out to Rowan. She takes it and I tug her up from the towel. When she's standing, I bend over and catch her legs with my shoulder, tossing her over me as I stand up. She squeals as I start walking toward the water.
"This is what is known as a fireman's carry," I tell her.
She squirms as she laughs and I pop her on the butt. "Don't do that. I might drop you."
"As if," she giggles.
I walk straight into the warm water and when I get waist deep, I let her slide down the front of my body. The contact of legs gliding over my crotch starts my dick twitching.
Rowan wraps her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist, and I walk out until the water is just lapping over my shoulders. She has to hold on to me now, because she can't touch the soft sand from where we are.
I lean my face in and give her a soft kiss. "Are you having a good time?"
"The best," she says and she kisses me back.
When she pulls away, she dips her head back into the water to wet her hair. The move pushes her breasts up, and I stare down at the creamy swells just inches from my mouth. My dick raises its head up with genuine interest.
When she pulls back up, water runs down her face, making her skin glisten like dew drops on spring flower petals. The sun reflecting off the water lightens her eyes to a shimmering silver and I'm stunned for a moment by how gorgeous she is.
"Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?"
Her cheeks actually get pink and she smiles at me shyly. "I don't know. I don't think anyone's said that to me before."
"You steal my breath sometimes," I tell her.
Laying her head on my shoulder, she says softly, "You're too good to me, Flynn. I don't deserve it."
I reach my hand up and grab her hair, pulling back so her head rises up. I look at her somberly. "You deserve the world, Rowan. The entire fucking world should belong to you."
Her mouth opens like she's going to say something, and then it snaps shut. Whatever was going to come out is locked away, but she speaks to me in another way. She lays her lips against mine, opening her mouth, and I slip in. Our tongues touch each other with confidence, and I let myself get immersed in the feelings of desire and affection I have for her.
She pulls her tongue back, just enough so she can speak, but never letting her lips leave mine. "Touch me, Flynn."
My face jerks back in surprise and the thought of all the things I could do to her in this water gives me an immediate and full-blown, raging hard on.
"Right now?" I ask, disbelieving.
She stares at me, her eyes hooded and unblinking. "Right here," she whispers.
I shoot a hasty glance at the beach and Linc and Ever are both on their backs, faces tilted up to the sky. They're not watching us. I look down the beach to a young couple that have been out there all morning, and they're actually making out pretty hot and heavy. I'm assuming honeymooners.
Scanning the area, I notice that the family of four that I had seen earlier are gone, maybe to get an early lunch?
Who gives a fuck?
It appears right now, I could probably have my way with Rowan and none would be the wiser.
Keeping my eyes locked on her, I remove one of my hands that were wrapped around her waist, dragging my fingers over her hip and down between her legs. I brush my fingers lightly over the material separating me from my goal and the contact causes Rowan to jerk almost violently as she throws her head back.
I pull my fingers back slightly and grin at her. "Uh-uh. Can't have that. You need to hold still, okay? Can't give away our secrets to anyone on that beach."
Bottom lip firmly gripped between her teeth, just so her front two teeth peep out, she nods at me.
"Okay," I tell her. "Let's try this again. And you need to behave. Just keep talking to me like we're just casually hanging out in the water."
"Okay," she pants. "But I hope I don't scream."
I chuckle over the thought and dip my hand back down again. I test her out, grazing my fingers over her lightly and, to my respect, she keeps absolutely still, although her eyes flutter close.
"Good girl," I tell her before pulling her bottoms to the side.
I tease between her legs for a few minutes, taking my time and making sure she can handle what I'm doing to her. She remains perfectly still, although her breathing is getting faster.
When I dip one long finger inside of her, her breath rushes out in wave of peppermint breath and she gasps, "Oh, Flynn, that feels good."
"Going to feel better," I promise her.
I lean in and grab her lips in a kiss, just as I plunge another finger inside. She lets out a tiny cry into my mouth and I start moving in and out of her in a consistent rhythm.
"I can't take it," she whimpers.
"Yes, you can. You can take anything I hand you... then you can take some more."
I add a third finger and she's so fucking tight around me I hope I'm not hurting her. I go a little slower, just in case.
When her head starts falling backward, I have to remind her to get back on track. "Eyes to me, baby. Gotta act normal."
Her head snaps up, her eyes locking with mine. I swear I can see flames dancing in them, and a rose blush is staining her neck. "Finish me off, please."
"Anything for you," I say as I remove my fingers and change the tempo and pattern of my movements. She bucks against my hand with a whimper and leans her face forward. Her teeth sink into my shoulder, and if anyone is watching us right now, I think they'd know what we were up to. Another quick glance to the beach tells me no one is paying attention.
I slip my index finger back inside her and use my thumb to continue my strokes. Immediately, her body starts to tremble and she bites down on me hard. That's definitely going to leave a mark, but I could care less.
With only a few more touches between her legs, Rowan groans and her body convulses. She cries into my shoulder as the spasms fire through, and when they die off, she lifts her face to mine. I remove my hand and pull her bottoms back in place.
"That was s
ome kinky shit," I tell her with a grin.
She smiles back and kisses me. "Yes, it was. Now I want you to take me back to the room and make love to me."
I kiss her back. "There's nothing I want more but you need to give me a few minutes. I can't get out of the water until my hard on disappears. Don't want to frighten everyone."
Rowan's eyes light up with a mixture of mischief and desire. "I have a better idea," she says.
"What's that?"
Moving one arm from around my shoulder, she drops it below the water. With just a few efficient moves, she's pulled the front of my swim trunks down and I spring free. I suck in a deep breath when her tiny hand curls around me. She places her lips near my ear and says, "How about I take care of you right now... then you don't have to worry about it?"
"Oh, God... please tell me you're not joking around?"
Her laugh is husky and rich as she strokes her hand against me. My toes curl down into the sand and I hope my knees don't give way, drowning us both. My head falls back it feels so fucking good, but she says, "Uh-uh, Mr. Caldwell. Eyes on me."
I raise my head and hold her eyes. Her hand moves along my shaft in the warm water, her thumb rubbing around the head every other stroke. She is like a siren rising from the sea, seducing me beyond my will, and I give surrender.
"You're amazing," I whisper to her.
She answers by increasing the pace and my body can't remain still. My hips start moving and I hope to God no one glances our way. But the truth of the matter is, I don't give a flying fuck. Right now, I'm a slave to Rowan's hand and the explosive orgasm that I can feel firing up.
I try to fight it off because I want to stay like this for eternity, but it's too overpowering. Stars burst inside my head as I shoot out into the warm Caribbean waters, and I have no choice but to kiss Rowan or otherwise I might scream from the intense pleasure.
The sun hangs low over the water as we wait for Emily to arrive. The ceremony is taking place on a grassy, seaside cliff overlooking one of the blue lagoons. I'm amazed at the simplicity with which this wedding is taking place. As the daughter of a U.S. Congressman, I guess I sort of expected more.
More guests, more flowers, more everything.
Instead, the Caldwell and Burnham families stand in a semi-circle around Nix with the minister beside him. At Emily's insistence, everyone was to dress casually, preferably with a tropical print. Nix has on a pair of khaki pants and a white linen shirt. He's not wearing any shoes.
I chose to wear a yellow sundress with a white, palm-frond pattern along with a pair of gold sandals. Flynn stands beside me with his hand resting on my back. He's wearing a pair of white shorts, a navy and white tropical print shirt, and flip-flops. His skin is bronze from just one day in the sun and his hazel eyes are shining almost green in the sun's glow.
Emily walks toward us on the arm of her dad. I have to say seeing Congressman Burnham in shorts and an island shirt makes him seem less intimidating to me. There's no music to announce her entrance, unless you count the cries of the seagulls in the distance and the crashing waves against the rocks below us.
Emily's dress is simple and beautiful, with nothing but flowing, plain chiffon dropping down from a pleated empire waist. Tiny, pearled spaghetti straps grace her tanned shoulders. She confessed to me she bought it online because she didn't have the patience to go shopping. She didn't even bother picking out the calla lilies in her hand, or the wedding cake that would be served tonight. She told the wedding planner at the resort to pick something suitable, claiming she had better things to think of... namely, her wedding night. That cracked me up.
Emily is staring at Nix as she approaches, her eyes aglow with love for him. I turn to look at Nix and his eyes are intensely focused on his bride. The connection between them is almost palpable and I feel a lump forming in my throat.
Congressman Burnham... Alex... reaches his hand out for Nix to shake. After a few pumps, he takes Nix's hand and places it on Emily's. I expect her to step up gracefully beside him, but Nix apparently has other plans. He gives her a tug and she goes crashing into his body. His hands come up to frame her face and he gives her a passionate kiss, bending her backward. Her arms have no choice but to wrap around his neck, and then she's kissing him back as her flowers fall from her hand.
Everyone starts snickering and the minister has to make several coughing sounds before Nix finally pulls up, giving her a last delicate kiss on her nose. Oh, I'm going to give him so much shit about this on my next work day with him.
Flynn leans over and places his lips near my ear. "Do you think anyone would mind if I did that to you right now?"
I smile and turn my head slightly so I can whisper back. "I'm sure a few would mind. Now hush."
After the minister makes some surprisingly short remarks and reads a small passage from the Bible, Nix and Emily say their vows. They chose to write their own, so the minister takes a polite step back as they turn to face each other.
Emily goes first and she's nervous. She turns to Danny, who hands her a piece of paper, and she opens it with shaking hands. Smiling at Nix, she says, "I had to write mine down because I'm afraid I'll babble."
Nix says, "Your babbling would be beautiful, baby."
Giving a shy smile, she dips her head down and starts to read. "Nix... I may have ran you over with my car, but you're the one that completely knocked me for a loop. From the moment I laid eyes on you... I suspected you were special... in my mind. From the moment you first held my hand, I knew you were special... in my heart. When you opened yourself up to me, you proved to the universe that you were created by God so that I would have someone to look over me."
She folds the paper up and looks up to Nix. "You probably don't know this, but every night before I go to sleep, I pray. I pray for all the things people normally do... for the health and safety of my family, for me to get an A on a test, for world peace." Everyone laughs and she pauses a second until it's quiet again.
"But I end every prayer with a special thank you... I make sure God knows that I am forever in his debt for bringing you into my life, and I pray that you are never taken from it. I love you, Nix, and I always will."
I look at Nix and there's a sheen of tears in his eyes, and oh, crap... my waterworks start. Somehow Flynn knows, without even looking down at me. His arm comes around my shoulder and he pulls me into him while I surreptitiously try to wipe the wetness from my cheeks.
Nix lifts Emily's hand and gives it a kiss. He reaches into his pocket and also pulls out a piece of paper. This I'm not surprised by because Nix definitely doesn't seem like the type that would memorize his vows. He's so damn surly half the time I expect his will be short and gruff.
He opens the paper and scans it, his eyes flying back and forth over the words. Then he looks up, and glances around at all of us staring at him. He crumples the paper up and tosses it to the ground where it lands beside Emily's neglected flowers.
My heart lurches because I think for a silly moment that he's going to back out of the wedding, but then he starts talking. "I had written my vows too, but as I look over them... they're not really want I want to say."
He takes a deep breath and turns to look out over the ocean. A smile comes to his face and it's serene and full of peace.
He turns back to Emily. "All of this," he begins, gesturing with his arm out toward the water. "All of this would have looked like ashes to me before I met you. I saw the world and it had no color. It was dull and lifeless... like dirty dishwater. I lived in a dark place, somewhere between this Earth and Hell. But I don't live there anymore... not since I met you."
Nix's hands come back up and frame Emily's face. It makes me focus on her and I see tears streaming, which start mine streaming again. "All I see is color now."
He looks up to the sky. "I see the blue of the sky, and the white of the clouds."
He looks down to the grass. "I see green... a million shades of green."
Nix looks back up at Emily. "And I
see my favorite color of all... the amber in your eyes. I wish everyone could see the color I do. And it's all because of you."
Emily issues a low sob and then throws her arms around Nix's shoulders. He buries his face in her neck and they just stand like that forever.
I really don't remember much more of the ceremony. Instead, I focus on these new emotions that have been brought forth by watching such an amazing declaration of honor and commitment. I think about the type of parents they will make, and I wonder if that love will one day be enough for a child.
I'd like to think so but, based upon my experience, I'm just not sure.
I feel like I stepped into an enchanted fairytale world. The wedding dinner is being held in an old sugar mill ruin that sits down at the bottom of a hill, just outside the main restaurant for the resort. It's a crumbling building made of stone and mortar. The roof is long gone and our ceiling is the night sky, which is awash with twinkling stars. Windows dot the walls but the frames and glass are long gone. Instead, tall pillar candles have been set on the ledges and cast flickering light everywhere. The walls may be falling but a new wooden floor has been built and my understanding is this place is used to hold small, outdoor parties and dinners.
There is a huge dining table set in the center, laden with more candles and stargazer lilies that perfume the air. Another table sits to the side with a small, two-tiered wedding cake and bottles of iced champagne.
"You have sand all over your feet," Flynn says as he looks down at my sandals.
This I already know because it's slightly uncomfortable with the grains of sand rubbing between the leather straps and my skin. We went down to the beach after the ceremony while the photographer took photos of the happy couple, as well as the entire family. Cillian, Ever, and I tried to back away but it did no good. We were dragged into every family photo that was snapped and it made me feel strangely displaced... like I was committing a fraud. I didn't belong here with these people, and yet they were making sure we were immortalized forever in their family gathering.
Flynn bends down and undoes the buckle of one sandal. He lifts my foot out and I put a hand on his shoulder to balance. He carefully wipes all the sand away, and puts my shoe back on. He then does the same to the other foot.