“For what? We should be thanking you for opening your home to us.” I found myself liking the small woman instantly. I still didn’t know exactly what her role was here besides being Vade’s wife but she seemed happy.
“My husband is a very private man. For him to allow the both of you to stay here with us is saying something.” She looked at him with warmth and love in her beautiful blue eyes. “He trusts you,” she said with conviction.
“It’s an honor for us to be here with you,” Parker said. “So we thank you as well.”
“It’s my pleasure, Sir.”
“If it’s not too personal, can I ask what a Courtesan is?” I found myself curious and wondered if it was the same as the BDSM lifestyle that Parker had introduced me to.
“It’s something that I’ve always known,” she said softly. “A lot of Courtesans are abused but I was lucky.” Her eyes saddened. “It’s like a glorified Master/slave relationship.”
I nodded slowly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.”
She shook her head quickly. “No. Not at all.”
“It’s a difficult subject,” Vade finished for her. “One day we will have to tell you our story.”
I smiled. “I would like that, Sir.”
Vade stopped at a large set of double doors. “Honey Bee, at my side, beautiful girl.”
Honey closed the distance between them and looked down at her feet.
“Ready, love?” he asked, caressing her cheek with the back of his hand.
“Yes, Master.” Her voice was filled with love, husky with the need to please her husband and do as he said. It was a beautiful scene to watch and I found myself not being able to take my eyes off of them.
“Don’t stare,” Parker whispered in my ear.
“I can’t help it. Their love is beautiful.” A tingle of heat spread through me when Parker brushed his hand down the length of my back.
“I will work damn hard for us to have the love that they share,” Parker said, his voice firm.
My heart swelled.
“Now we usually don’t allow people from the outside to see or hear the way we are with each other.” Vade ran a hand through his shaggy black hair. “People can be a little judgy.”
I scoffed.
He raised an eyebrow, looking between Parker and I. “Something you want to say, Keely?”
I quickly shook my head. “I was just going to agree with you, Sir.”
Parker chuckled. “You’ve embraced the term intimidation to its fullest extent, haven’t you, Vade?”
Vade barked a laugh. “You have no idea. Now let’s get this moving along before Keely’s curiosity causes her to blurt out more questions without permission.”
My cheeks heated.
Honey winked at me. “Don’t worry, he’s not that scary. And he won’t punish you. He’ll give Parker that task,” she told me softly.
“Vade really isn’t scary?”
“Well,” she took on a faraway look as she watched her husband disappear into the room before us. “He was. Not to me though. I was never scared of him.”
Interesting. I found myself wanting to know their story. How they met. How they fell in love. And why she agreed to be the gift that he was promised. I could only assume that she was the woman that Parker had told me about. Unless Vade had several women at his beck and call. He was a good-looking man. His European accent was velvety smooth and I was even drawn to it. But it was nothing like the deep rumble of Parker’s vibrato. If only I could bottle it. I would bathe in his voice.
“Follow me. Allow me to give you your surprise.” Vade stepped into the room and spread out his hands before him.
I knew the house was beautiful. Extravagant in a way that I could never imagine but when I entered the vast room, I was blown away.
“Wow,” Parker said for me. “Vade, you have outdone yourself. I never expected… wow… just…thank you.”
“Parker Reed. Speechless.” Vade laughed. “That’s a new one to add to the history books. Take a look around. Take all the time you need and then we’ll get started.”
A large stone fountain sat in the middle of the room. Two concrete birds were standing across from each other, their beaks pointed to the air as the water left their mouths. The liquid pouring into the base of the fountain glowed in the moon light by the open area in the ceiling. Candles hung on the brick beams, the flames dancing slowly every so often in the warm breeze.
An older man stood by a table and chairs, holding a bottle of wine. He looked content, peaceful as he waited for his next instructions.
This house must have been built around this room or the other way around. God, the history. “Parker?”
“Yes, angel?”
I went to ask him if he knew if there was a library here when I saw two gold rings sitting on top of a red satin pillow. It was on the edge of the fountain, glistening in the glow of the candlelight. My heart jumped in my chest. “What is this?”
Parker smirked.
“I see you found my surprise,” Vade said, coming up beside us.
“Surprise? What’s going on?” My palms became sweaty, a tingle of unexpected excitement fluttering through me.
“Well it seems like our host is moving things along faster than I expected.” Parker grabbed the small pillow, brushing his fingers over the gold bands.
Vade snapped his fingers. “Ready?” he asked Parker.
“Oh yes.” Parker grabbed my hand and kissed my knuckles. “I love you.”
My heart sped up. I could feel people moving around us but my gaze remained locked with his. “I love you too.”
“I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to grow old with you. You captured my heart. You latched on, not letting go even if you wanted to.” His green eyes sparkled. “You are the light in my darkness. The rainbow in my storm. We’ve both led difficult lives. Made hard choices. Did things we weren’t proud of for those that we love. I never did romance before I met you, Keely Price. You are the angel that God gave me.” He cupped my cheek, his jade eyes filling with unshed tears. “I am yours. Mind. Body. And soul.”
“Oh God. Parker.” I swallowed hard, tears streaming down my cheeks at his unbelievably sweet words.
“I’m not a romantic guy but I find myself wanting to pamper you as much as I can. You deserve it. Diamonds. Fur coats. Your own private jet.”
I laughed. “I don’t need all of that stuff as long as I have you, my love.”
His thumbs brushed under my eyes. “I know. And this is why I love you even more. You have the biggest heart. Your love for your best friend is astounding. If I was half as kind as you, I would be a better person but you make me want that. You make me want to be a better man. I would give up everything to spend the rest of my life with you, wrapped up in your arms. That would make me be the happiest man in the world.” He pinched my chin. “Marry me.”
My eyes widened. “W-what?”
“Right now.”
I glanced down at the rings on the pillow before looking back up at him. “Is this what you had planned?”
“Actually, I was just going to propose.” He shrugged. “But going straight to marrying you works for me.”
My mouth fell open. Marriage. I never even thought that I would get married again. Was I ready? Did I want—?
Warm soft lips covered mine, silencing my thoughts. “I know this is hard since you’ve already been married once before. But I want you to know that I am not Devin. Once we marry, I won’t change.” He pointed at himself. “This is me. In the flesh, Keely. I am Parker Reed and I want to marry you.” He brushed his mouth gently along mine. “I can see your beautiful brain questioning me. But please don’t. I need you to trust me.” He got down on one knee, staring intently into my eyes.
I stifled a sob. I heard someone sniffing softly near us and I could only assume that it was Honey. I knelt in front of Parker. “Growing up, I thought that I would only marry once and stay married to that person for the rest of m
y life. When that blew up in my face, I made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t give my heart to anyone. Ever again. Then I met you. This intense dark brooding man that brought me to my knees just from a mere look. Your beautiful green eyes captivated me. That was the first thing that I noticed about you. Well, that and your sexy as hell voice.”
He laughed, a slight flush spreading up his tattooed neck.
“I could sense something that was inside of you. Something that could help me heal. That could help me move on.” I cupped his cheeks. “You erased my memories of Devin and replaced them with you. Not completely but I know together, eventually it can happen. We will get through this.”
“You never answered my question.”
A slow grin spread on my face. “Ask me again, my love.”
His eyes heated. “Will you marry me? Right now.”
“Yes.” I threw my arms around his neck igniting a deep chuckle to rumble from his chest. “A million times yes. And yes, I will marry you right now.”
“YOU SURE are beautiful.”
I smiled at Honey in the mirror as she brushed my hair. “Thank you.”
“Are you excited?”
I couldn’t help but nod, knowing that only minutes from now, I would be marrying Parker. “I don’t think excited is the right word.”
She giggled. “I know that feeling.”
“How long have you known Vade?” I blurted. God, these questions were going to get my ass sore.
“Many years.” She laughed. “You remind me of myself. The spankings I got at first,” her cheeks reddened. “Well, let’s just say I was walking very slow for a couple of days.”
I turned towards her, smoothing my hands down the red floor length satin dress she had lent me. “How do you do it?”
She frowned. “What do you mean?”
“How do you live every day, submitting to him? I’m only assuming, but that is part of what a Courtesan does, right?”
“Oh yes. But that’s not just the only thing.” She sighed. “I love him. I came from a very poor family. He’s…he’s given me so much. Way more than I could ever ask for. I’d love to tell you everything but not right now. We’re running late and we don’t want to get in trouble, now do we?”
“I don’t know. The punishment sure seems rewarding at times.”
“I agree.” She laughed. “I will tell you that submitting to him every day is freeing. But my situation is different than yours. I was raised in this lifestyle. You? You have a choice.”
“Don’t you?” I asked, rising to my full height.
Her eyes searched my face. “I’ve never had a choice.”
“Honey—”
She turned me until I was facing the floor length mirror and stood behind me. “I know you have worries over this. But Parker loves you. And I know that you love him. I can see it in your eyes. Trust that and everything else will fall into place.”
“TWO WHITE turtle doves destined to be together for the rest of their lives may not always have it easy. Enraptured by the strength of their love, they were determined to fight through anything to get back to each other. A love as strong as theirs is hard to maintain but with their help of their friends and family, it would be easier. These doves, although strong apart, were even stronger together. I don’t know these doves,” the priest smiled at his reference. “But I do know their love. I’ve only ever seen it in one other couple and to say that it’s awe-inspiring is an understatement.” He picked the rings up off the statin pillow and looked between Parker and I. “These rings represent your love for each other. They symbolize the circle of trust that binds you two together. I also know that there will be another ceremony at a later time and if you’ll have me, I’d love to fly out to perform it for you.”
I frowned. “Another ceremony?”
Parker leaned forward, his lips brushing the shell of my ear. “For when I collar you.”
“Oh my,” was all I said. My mind made up a fantasy of Parker snapping a black leather collar around my neck and tossing away the key. I was sure he would swallow it if he could so as to never let me leave him. Which wouldn’t happen in the first place but it was a funny thought.
“Now, each of you take the rings. Parker, place the ring on Keely’s ring finger on her left hand. And then repeat after me.”
Parker did as instructed but first he kissed my finger. I giggled, my cheeks heating as his lips lingered on my skin. He smiled, a huge toothy grin, when he looked up at me.
A throat cleared. “Focus. You can maul her later,” Vade teased.
“Oh I will,” Parker said, his voice lowering and he then slipped the ring onto my finger, kissing it again. “Father, I’d like to say my own vows if I could, please.”
The priest nodded. “Of course.”
Parker pulled me towards him.
I gasped at the abrupt movement, slapping a hand against his chest.
“With this ring…” He rubbed his thumbs into my palm, brushing them over the thin gold band. “It is a symbol of my love to you. No matter how tough life gets or how hard it is to be happy, know that I will always love you. This band represents the circle of our love. The more it goes around, the stronger that it becomes. With this ring, I thee wed. Forever. I will love you. Honor you. Cherish you. Mind. Body. And soul.” He kissed my knuckles.
I inhaled a shaky breath, not caring in the least that the tears were now flowing freely now my cheeks.
“Your turn, Keely. Did you want to do your own as well?” the priest asked softly.
I nodded.
He smiled. “Pick up the ring and let your love lead the words that leave your lips.”
I swallowed a couple of times and took a deep breath. “Parker, with this ring, I am bound to you. Every time that you look at it, I want you to think of me. I want you to be reminded that I belong to you. Physically. Mentally. My very being is yours. The air I breathe is yours. The very words that I speak are yours.” With a shaky hand, I slid the thick band onto Parker’s finger and brought his hand up to my mouth. Kissing the band, I spoke the words that I would finally say once and one time only. “With this ring, I thee wed. This band is the circle of my trust for you. You’ve opened up this part in me that lay dormant for so long. A part that I believe was meant just for you. My love. My Dom. And, eventually, my Master. I love you. I will honor, cherish and love you completely. Whether I am kneeling at your feet or standing at your side, I am yours.”
“I think you’re going to make me cry,” the priest said, his voice thick.
We all laughed.
“Are you ready?” he asked me.
“Yes. God, yes. Please,” I rambled, bouncing from foot to foot.
“Good girl. Now by the powers vested in me and by the grace of God, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your—”
Warm lips crashed to mine before the words could leave the priest’s mouth. Resounding laughter erupted around us but all I could focus on was the first kiss from my husband. I giggled when Parker lifted me into the air, wrapping my legs around his waist.
I laughed harder, raining kisses on his face.
“I need you. Right now,” he growled, digging his fingers in the flesh of my rear.
Suddenly, I was dropped on a soft mattress and I realized that we were now back in our room. “Parker,” I breathed, taking his tongue deep into my mouth.
“Right. Now.” He released me and sat back undoing his belt and ripping open his pants. “I want to savor you but that can wait.”
I nodded, lifting my dress to my hips.
His nostrils flared. “No panties. Fuck I love you.”
I would have laughed at the crass way he expressed his love for me but my body burned for him. “Make love to me the way you need. We can go slow la—” I didn’t even have a chance to get the last word out before he was on me.
Our mouths moved as one, our hands massaging and kneading, bringing us both to the point of pent-up, frustrated desire. Reaching between us, I wrapped
my hand around him before guiding him into my waiting heat.
“Fuck. Me,” he called out, his breathing heavy and erratic. “I can’t,” his hips moved slow and deep, his body shaking. “I’m not going to last long.”
I cupped his nape and kissed him. “That’s fine, my love. Give me your orgasm. Mark me as yours.”
“My wife,” he snarled, pushing my knee up to my chest and thrust into me so hard, I lost my breath. “Shit.”
I arched under him, matching his rough moves, and gave him all of me. “Parker. God, faster,” I moaned, spreading my legs wider.
“Keely.” The deep rumble of my name leaving his lips set my blood on fire. His length swelled inside of me, to the point that I could feel every ridge, every vein. Every throbbing inch of him.
“Let go for me, my love.” I undid his dress shirt and ran my hands over his smooth, hard, tattooed chest. The piercings in his nipples twinkled in the dim lighting of the room.
His pace quickened, his eyes darkening with lust and an undying passion that grew every single day. Wrapping a hand around my throat, he tilted my head. Licking along the seam of my mouth, he nipped my bottom lip. A wicked grin spread on his face before he grabbed my hand and guided it between us.
I gasped as our joined hands started rubbing my swollen clit.
His hips stopped. “Come for me.”
“Parker,” I panted, my hips moving of their own accord.
“That’s it, Keely.” Our hands sped up, matching the movements of my hips.
“Oh God.”
He stopped completely, watching my hips lift up and down while his length pumped in and out of me. “That’s it. Faster.” The veins in his neck protruded, thickening with the preemptive desire of my body pleasing his. “Fuck,” he called out, throwing his head back. “Come, pet. God. Shit.” His release poured into me, coating me from within.
An explosion of pure bliss powered into me and I screamed, his name leaving my lips.
Our sounds of passion mixed as one as it took us to new heights of ultimate ecstasy. When our erratic breathing slowed, his heavy body covered mine, his warm lips covering my face in soft kisses. “You are amazing.”