Page 90 of Love and Other Trials
“Yeah.” He clutched her closer to his warm, solid body. “It will make things easier. Tomorrow.”
If her reality were a building, she would have fallen down a few floors. “Right. Tomorrow.”
The wedding.
Where she’d hopefully—finally—get one of the main keys to her future.
She hadn’t come here with the expectation that she’d find another key waiting for her. But here he was, and she wasn’t letting him go. No matter what happened at the wedding.
TWENTY-TWO
Wakingup after exchanging “I love yous” had to be up there with getting his wings.
Dax snuggled up against Ariel, who groaned as he turned the alarm off.
“Did we really sleep until seven again?” she asked in a voice ruffled with sleep.
“Yes, we sure did.” He kissed her neck, luxuriating in her soft, silky warm skin. “It’s practically a record for me too, but since we didn’t go to sleep until after three, it’s understandable.”
“Had to celebrate the whole L thing.” Her voice was a mumble. “Now we’ve gotta face today.”
She sounded so aggrieved, he hugged her tightly and gave her a raspberry on her neck, which only made her laugh and playfully push him away.
He rolled her onto her back and swept the messy hair out of her eyes. “Sounds like you need a little motivation and a reminder of that whole L thing we covered.”
The sleep cleared from her eyes as he pressed his hardness against her softness. “What do you have in mind, big boy? Oh, wait! It’s one of the poles for the wedding tent, isn’t it?”
That had them both chortling as he fitted on a condom and slid inside her. Then they weren’t laughing anymore because she’d lifted to him and started a gentle rhythm that had him smiling down at her.
“Do you really know how much I love you?” he asked.
He’d never imagined the freedom he’d feel, saying those words. He’d grown up saying them with his family, but with her, his whole life felt like open blue sky, the kind that had always made him feel invincible.
She clutched his hips, drawing him in deeper and arching against him. “Probably not, but I’m eager to learn, Captain.”
So she wasn’t going to be serious. Her sultry smile had him grinning before she tightened around him and made him groan. “So that’s how it’s going to be, huh? Elizabeth, prepare to be properly convinced.”
He was as good as his word. Sometime later, she lay supine on his body, his hands stroking her back. She kissed his chest. “I really need to get going. The tent guys are coming soon. Think good thoughts.”
“Always.” He slapped her butt lightly as she rolled out of bed. “Looking good. I’ll let you shower alone. If I join you?—”
“We’re so going to do it again.” She wiggled her hips and shot him a glance over her shoulder. “How much restraint do you have?”
“You, miss, are trouble.” He waved her toward the bathroom. “Go. I have to get ready to meet up with Jeffrey to pick up the wedding dress.”
She crossed and dug a key card out of her purse. “Before I forget, Tiffany gave me my former room key so you guys could hang the dress in there. She’s in her getting-ready outfit—don’t ask me more about that—and doesn’t plan on being anywhere near her dress until an hour before the ceremony. Tricia got makeup on her dress at her first wedding, and Tiffany is paranoid. I even had to get special cleaning wipes in case of a second disaster.”
Dax winced. “I didn’t know about all this wedding stuff until now. My sister and her husband just got hitched. Fifty people. We had a BBQ at a local ranch. No frills. My brother’s was about the same.”
“Sounds perfect.” She handed him the card for picking up the dress and struck a pose. “Sure you don’t want to try and make me late?”
He gave her a slow perusal, letting her see what she did to him by pulling back the sheet. “Elizabeth, you are playing with fire.”
“Oh, Stephan,” she cried, taking her sweet little bottom off to the bathroom, “didn’t you know I’m a closet pyromaniac?”
He was laughing as she shut the door. Rolling out of bed, he pulled on shorts and a T-shirt. He had to pick up his dress whites from another dry cleaner this morning, along with Rob’s uniform and the rest of his buddies’ whites. Jeffrey had said he didn’t mind swinging over there after picking up Tiffany’s wedding dress.
He was making coffee when someone started pounding on the door. Sherlock trotted over and regarded it with sad, expressive eyes. Dax patted his head when he reached him. “Yeah, we know who that must be, don’t we?”
