Page 116 of Captured Fantasy

“Iris Esposito, you hush!” Mrs. Venetti gasped. “My goodness, you girls are too much. I need a lemonade from the kitchen.”

She disappeared into the hall and Iris and I looked at one another and laughed. The door opened again and Olivia walked in with a gift bag in her hand. She’d already started showing, her little bump just visible through the fabric of her pale pink shift dress.

“Are those the dirty, scandalous things?” Iris said, gesturing to the bag.

“The dirtiest,” Olivia said. “I’m leaving it with your honeymoon bag, Enza.”

“What is it?” I asked curiously.

“Wedding night lingerie, toys, lube,” Iris said. “Just a few new things to spice it up tonight. You’ve had sex with him before, right?”

Iris could be incredibly honest about sex and I could never guess what she would say next. I nodded, feeling a flush creep up my face. I’d never really had the opportunity to talk about sex with other women before and it felt nice. Like a rite of passage.

“We had sex for the first time about a year ago,” I admitted. “Why? Did you wait?”

“I didn’t,” Iris said.

“I waited for my wedding night,” Olivia chimed in. “I sort of wish I hadn’t though. I feel like it would have been so exciting and scandalous to have premarital sex.”

Both Iris and I laughed and Olivia blushed.

“I think you get plenty of exciting and scandalous times with Lucien now,” Iris said, looking at her stomach. “The proof is right there.”

The clock chimed and Olivia gave a quiet squeak and began rummaging for her purse. I let Iris help me down the stairs and hold my dress and veil while I climbed into the back of Lucien’s Tesla. Duran drove and Iris sat up front, their hands clasped. My heart fluttered against my ribs and my throat was dry, but deep in my chest there was contentment.

Iris helped me into the the front area of the church that was hidden from view. She kissed my cheek, hugged, me and scurried away to join Duran in his pew. I stood there alone, listening to the organ, and breathed in this moment. Somehow, despite everything I had been through and everything I had done, I was minutes away from the wedding I’d always wanted and the man I loved more than anything in the world.

“Are you ready?”

I turned and Lucien stood there, his hands in his pockets, and his face softer than usual. I nodded wordlessly and my throat closed, tears spilling out of my eyes. Thank goodness for Iris and whatever she had sealed my makeup with because my mascara didn’t budge. I dabbed it, sniffing and fanning my face to dry the tears. It took a minute, but I managed to get control of myself.

“I’m ready,” I whispered.

“No taking it back. Today’s the day you become part of the Esposito family,” he said. “All of your anonymity will be gone. From here on it’s money, power, and a whole fuckload of demons.”

“I’ll be a Barone,” I said softly.

He shook his head once. “Cosimo is my brother-in-law and you’ll be his wife. For all purposes, you’re royalty. You’re the boss’s family now, Enza.”

I swallowed, my throat dry. Lucien crossed to me as the music changed. He lifted my veil, laying it gently over my face. Then he took my hand and tucked it under his arm just as the doors opened, revealing a packed church. I heard the collective rustle as everyone stood and the organ changed to a breathtaking version of “Be Thou My Vision,” the sound making the ground vibrate beneath my feet.

The sun caught the dust settling in the magnificent old church and I following the glittering trail with my eyes all the way up to the alter. At the end of it stood Cosimo, his hands clasped before him. My throat tightened, my eyes glued to the man who waited for me. My God, he was so impossibly perfect, so incredibly handsome. His shoulders were back, his strong body accentuated by the lines of his suit, and the light glinted off his black hair.

Our eyes met and a jolt of pure electricity moved through me, making my head spin. My legs felt weightless and my head spun as Lucien guided me up the aisle. It wasn’t until he drew back my veil and took my hand, passing it to Cosimo, that I remembered to take a breath.

My only regret from my wedding day was that I barely remembered the ceremony. It was a complete blur, a mess of my thudding pulse and Cosimo’s hard grip on my hand. Afterwards, as we stood for pictures, I recalled the burning sensation of his mouth on mine as he kissed me before God and everyone we knew. I remembered the applause, the hazy faces before us, and I remembered Cosimo’s forearm wrapped around my waist. Holding me to him, sheltering me.

Outside the church, he held me to his side as the photographer got the last few pictures. I felt his hand slide up my back and his fingertip traced the delicate chain of the collar around my throat. A little shiver moved down my spine as I glanced up at him.

There it was, that dark, hot fire smoldering in his eyes.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

COSIMO

She’d turned me down for almost three months straight before the wedding. By June, I had the worst case of blue balls I’d ever had in my life and by the end of the month I’d given up trying to fix it and resigned myself to misery. To make things worse, she teased me relentlessly, whether she meant to or not. I couldn’t sleep thinking about the way her sundresses rode up her thighs or how she would catch my eye across a crowded room with that fuck-me look that made my dick throb.

There was a rush of possessive triumph in my chest as the priest declared us married. This woman was mine and I was going to keep her up all night and pleasure her body until she was too weak to stand. If she could sit down the next day on the drive to our honeymoon, I’d consider it a failed performance.

---