Holding up my hands, I laughed. “Well now, don’t get me wrong, I love Vegas too. Hell, I’ve had some fun times in Vegas and had a few awesome one niii . . . um . . . I um . . . I enjoy Vegas occasionally. I’d rather be home, with Sierra, any day though.”
“Nice recovery, son. I already know of your ways before my daughter.”
Jerking my head back, I asked, “My ways, sir?”
Taking in a breath and pushing it out quickly, Paul shook his head as he looked down and then back into my eyes. “What was before Sierra is just that. Before Sierra. I sowed my wild oats, son, and made plenty of mistakes. One of those mistakes was being unfaithful to my wife.”
Swallowing hard, I wasn’t sure what to say.
“I regretted it the moment it happened. Blamed alcohol and really all it was was my own weakness. She told me if I had truly loved her, even alcohol wouldn’t have played a part in my decision to betray her. I swore to her it would never happen again, and it never did, but every day I walked out the door she would look at me different than before. As if, in her mind she was wondering if I would remain faithful. The day she died, I swore to her I would never let our daughter feel that pain. I failed that promise. But I promise you, I won’t fail again. You ever so much as touch another woman besides your wife, or do anything to hurt my daughter . . . I’ll have you killed.”
Holy freaking shit. I’m pretty sure I just pissed in my pants.
Then it all hit me in one moment. Robert had only been in jail two days before he was beaten so badly he had to be sent to the hospital. “Holy shit. Robert getting beaten up in jail, was that . . . did you . . . I mean—” Leaning in closer, I asked, “Are you still in the . . . you know?”
Giving me a smile that was not meant to make me feel better, I took a step back. Paul took a step closer to me. “Let’s say I have—connections.”
Sweat began to bead at my brow as I nodded my head. Letting out a nervous chuckle, I said, “Well, you won’t need them for me, I can tell ya that! I’m already talking to my mother about grandkids for Christ’s sake.”
Paul’s eyes softened and his face lit up. “Grandkids?”
Oh fuck.
Tristan walked up to me and slapped me on the back, scaring the hell out of me. “Aaron, it’s time to get dressed and get ready. Paul, it’s good seeing you again.”
Paul reached his hand out and shook Tristan’s. “Good to see you too, Tristan. How’s that beautiful new bride of yours?”
What the fuck? Paul likes Tristan more than me. Damn it.
“She’s doing wonderfully. She’ll love seeing you again,” Tristan said with a smile that made me want to punch him in the face.
Turning, I nodded my head and said, “Well, I guess next time I see you . . . um . . . you’ll be walking Sierra down the aisle.”
Paul’s smile fell. “Yep.”
Turning on his heels, he walked away. Dragging in a deep breath, I grabbed Tristan. “He hates me!”
Tristan laughed and waved his hand off as he made his way to the staircase. “Nah, he doesn’t hate you. He’s just very protective of Sierra. Especially with the whole Robert thing.”
“No, you don’t understand, Tristan.” Looking over my shoulder, I smiled when I noticed Paul watching us walk up the stairs. Giving him a wave, he barely gave me a head nod. Reaching the top stair, I placed my hands on my knees and began taking in deep breaths.
“Jesus, I knew the nerves were going to hit you sooner or later, but damn, dude. Get a grip!”
Looking up at Tristan, I shook my head. “He threatened to have me killed, dude! Killed!”
Shrugging his shoulders, Tristan turned and headed to my parents’ master bedroom where all the guys were set to get ready. Sierra, Ryn, Azurdee and Kacey were in the guesthouse.
“I wouldn’t worry too much about it. He’d have to have a damn good reason to have you knocked off.”
Knocked off. The words sent chills throughout my body as I moaned and said a silent prayer I never ever hurt Sierra in any way.
Stepping into the room, I came across Lark talking to Kacey’s husband, Greg, about a hunt Greg was going to do on Lark’s property near Marble Falls. Rolling my eyes, I slapped my hands together, only to have Lark give me the middle finger.
STANDING AT THE WINDOW, I tried like hell to calm my beating heart. It’s not like I was nervous because I wasn’t. The yard had transformed into a magical paradise filled with flowers and white lights in the course of a few hours. I’d seen Aaron carrying chairs, setting up tables, laughing with Tristan, chasing after Lark with a stick yelling at him, and glancing over to the guesthouse smiling.
Placing my hands on my stomach, I shook my head. I’m getting married. Was I moving too fast? Maybe we went too fast? What if Aaron doesn’t want the same things I want? We’ve never even talked about kids and earlier Kate was in here going on about grandchildren.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Spinning on my heels, I looked at my wedding dress. I had a good fifteen minutes before I had to get dressed. Running over to my purse, I grabbed my cell phone.
Me: I need to talk to you. Now.
Aaron: Why?
Smiling, because I knew what he was thinking.
Me: I haven’t changed my mind but we need to talk about something before we get married.
Aaron: I’m very aware of your obsession with me baby. I can live with it.
Me: I’m sneaking outside. Meet me behind the guesthouse in two minutes.
Aaron: I’m in the house! You’re right there. Give me at least five.
Me: Fine! Hurry, I have to get dressed still.
Placing my phone back down on the table, I snuck to the door and slowly opened it. There were two doors that led outside, the front and the back. Everyone was in the front living room of the guesthouse so that counted out the front. Turning to my left, I quickly headed down the small hallway and made a sharp right, only to come face to face with Ryn.
“Whatcha doing?” Ryn asked as she placed her hands on her hips.
Shrugging my shoulders, I laughed nervously. “Nothing. Just needed some fresh air. I won’t be long.”
Looking at her phone, Ryn raised her eyebrow and gave me that motherly stare. “You have to get dressed in fourteen minutes and thirty . . . two seconds.”
Jesus. She had it down to the seconds! Giving her a wink, I pushed her to the side. “Got it! Just need a few breaths of fresh air.”
Stepping in front of me, Ryn smiled sweetly. “Want me to go with you?”
“No! I um . . . I need to be alone. In the fresh air. Breathing it in. You know . . . that country air . . . fresh shit and all.”
“Fresh shit?”
Rolling my eyes, I pushed her further out of the way. “You’re wasting my precious minutes!” I yelled as I walked quickly to the back door. Looking over my shoulder, Ryn was giving me a huge smile. “You’re down to less than twelve minutes!”
Giving her the finger, I yelled back, “Fuck you, Ryn!”
Shutting the door, I frantically began looking for Aaron. I could hear all the people talking as they were being seated.
“Aaron?” I whispered. Hearing something behind me in the bushes, I turned quickly. Aaron jumped out and grabbed me.
“Quick! The marine is after me!”
Wait. What?
Aaron pulled my arm practically out of my socket as he dragged me over to the pool house. “Get down lower . . . to the ground, Sierra! People are going to see us!”
“What would you like me to do, Aaron? Crawl on the ground?”
Aaron frowned as he opened the pool house door. Looking around, he quickly pushed me inside.
Shutting the door, he grabbed me and began pulling my pretty pink T-shirt that Kacey had made that read, I’m the bride, off of me. “Jesus, you smell heavenly. I won’t mess up your hair, which by the way looks incredible,” Aaron said as he smashed his lips to mine.
Must. Talk. Kids.
My mind was swirling as I fou
ght against giving in to the desire and talking about our future.
Aaron’s hand slipped into my sweatpants and quickly found its way to my desire. Letting out a low moan, I dropped my head back and whispered, “Yes.”
“Sierra, I’m going to take you. Hold on, baby.”
Grabbing onto Aaron’s shoulders, I waited for him to make good on his promise. I could practically feel my wetness as Aaron pulled my pants and panties off. Moving his hands softly up my legs, I let out a whimper.
Lifting me up, Aaron pressed me up against the door and lifted me just enough to push his dick inside of me.
“Fucking hell, this is what I needed. I’m going to fuck you now, Sierra. Don’t make any noise,” Aaron said between gritted teeth.
“What?” I asked as my breathing increased and my body began to tremble.
That’s when I looked out the small window across the pool house and saw all the people.
“Holy shit! I didn’t realize we were that close to everyone, Aaron! Stop.”
And just like that, he pulled out and pushed back into me with such force, I let out a small scream, causing Aaron’s Grams to stop talking and look over her shoulder toward the pool house.
Aaron was relentless as he moved in and out of me.
“Talk to me, baby,” Aaron whispered against my neck.
Pressing my lips together hard, I fought like hell to keep my moans of pleasure inside.
Aaron continued to work me up into what surely was going to be one hell of an orgasm. I began to feel the build-up as my body felt as if it was in convulsions.
“Talk to me, Sierra,” Aaron said against my lips as he bit down on my lower lip.
“Aaron . . . don’t . . . stop! I’m going to . . . oh God!” I called out as Aaron pressed his lips to mine and fucked the living shit out of me against the door to the pool house. While eighty people sat on the other side of the window, waiting for us to be married.
Finally coming to a stop, I pulled my head back and asked, “What time is it?”
Aaron gave me a funny look before holding up his arm and looking at his watch. “Damn, baby, you were timing me? That hurts my ego slightly.”
Rolling my eyes, I said, “No! I need to get dressed and I’m sure you just ruined my hair.”
Giving me a sexier than hell smile, Aaron shook his head. “You look beautiful. It’s five thirty-five.”
“Shit,” I whispered as I began prompting him to put me down.
Grabbing a towel, Aaron began to wipe between my legs. “Hold on, baby. Let me clean you up.”
“God, I love when you do this,” I said as I stared down at him while he cleaned between my legs.
Giving me a wink, Aaron said, “You look beautiful. Your face is flushed.”
Placing my hands on my cheeks, they felt hot. “Well, you did just fuck the hell out of me, Mr. Walker, with a crowd right outside the door.”
Smiling, Aaron stood up. “Another item to check off your sex bucket list, baby. This is as close to public sex as I’m letting you get.”
Biting down on my lip, I giggled. “Oh! I forgot, we need to talk about kids.”
Aaron’s face fell. “Is it everyone’s goal today to make me a nervous wreck? What do you mean? Are you . . . are we?”
Aaron’s eyes fell to my stomach. “No! Oh God no, I’m not pregnant.”
Letting out a breath, Aaron said, “Thank you, God.”
My heart sank as the reality of Aaron not wanting kids kicked in. “You don’t want kids?” I said with sadness lacing my voice.
Aaron’s eyes widened in horror. “What? Yes! Oh my gosh, yes, I want kids, Sierra. More than anything I want to have kids. I just want to spend some time with you first. But yes . . . baby, I want to be the father of our kids more than anything.”
Smiling bigger, I looked down, almost afraid to ask the next question. I didn’t want to wait long. I would be thirty-one in a couple of months, and I didn’t want to be one of those parents that waited until they were forty to have kids.
“Um . . . how long do you want to wait until we start trying?”
Placing his hands on the sides of my face, Aaron pierced my eyes with his. “I was thinking we play it by ear. Get ourselves settled into our new house, get Princess trained a bit more, and let you settle into your new job. I’d hate for you to feel like you’ve been robbed of the chance to pursue this avenue in your career. Spend some time focusing on us.” Leaning closer to me, Aaron brushed his lips gently across mine as he whispered, “But . . . Sierra, if you want to start trying, we can start now.”
Oh my word. How in the world did I luck out with this man? Pulling him closer to me, I kissed him with everything I had. “Let’s get through our honeymoon and get things settled like you said, then we will start thinking about little Aarons running around the house with Princess chasing them down.”
Closing his eyes, Aaron smiled. “God, that sounds like a dream come true.” Opening his eyes and smiling even bigger, Aaron whispered, “I love you so much.”
Pressing my lips together to keep from crying, I tried to calm my beating heart as I slowly spoke. “I love you more.”
The knock on the door caused both Aaron and me to let out a scream.
The door opened and I quickly stood behind Aaron. Ryn was standing there with an angry look on her face.
“Oh for Christ’s sake. Dodge zip up your dick, Sierra get the hell dressed. We are now late!”
Turning, Ryn slammed the door shut as Aaron and I both looked down at his dick. It was safely stowed inside his pants as we both let out a sigh of relief. I quickly got dressed and made sure my hair was still all in position.
“You go first, baby. I’ll see you in a few minutes?” Aaron said as he walked me to the door. It was then I noticed he was in his tux. Holy shit. He was handsome as hell.
My libido kicked in again and I went to wrap my arms around his neck when he lifted his finger and shook his head. “Go! Before I fuck you again. This time you won’t be able to hold your screams back with my kiss.”
“Oh my,” I whimpered as I quickly made my way out of the pool house and back to the guest house, where a very pissed off Ryn stood at the back door.
Giving her a silly grin as I walked up, she asked, “Was it worth it?”
Nodding my head, I said, “He’s always worth it.”
“Oh sweet Jesus, you look like your mother,” my father said as he wiped a tear away. “I wish she could have been here to see you.”
Smiling, I looked down at my beautiful gown. Robert had wanted to elope, so I never got to have my fairy tale wedding. I was glad in a way; I wanted this with Aaron, not Robert.
“Are you both ready?” Ryn asked as she began ushering us toward the back of the house. We had skillfully managed to make our way back with no one seeing us. Now, all I had to do was walk out onto the back deck, down the stairs, and down the make-shift aisle I feared I was going to trip on.
Daddy turned to me and asked, “Are you sure you want to marry him? I could make sure he left you alone if you didn’t want to marry him. You’d be amazed what a few paint fumes could do.”
Rolling my eyes, I playfully hit my father on the chest. “Stop it. I love him and he makes me happy, Daddy.”
Kissing me lightly on the cheek, he whispered, “That’s all that matters.”
The music started and Kacey walked first, followed by Azurdee and then Ryn. It didn’t help that Azurdee was pregnant as all get out and moved slower than molasses down the stairs.
“Jesus! Speed it up, momma!” Ryn said as Azurdee held up her hand. I was almost positive she gave Ryn the finger. When Ryn was out of sight, Daddy gave me a small tug and we began walking.
“It’s not too late,” he whispered as we descended the stairs.
“Stop it, Daddy!”
Quickly scanning the area, I smiled. Then I saw them. The blue eyes I fell captive to all those months ago when I first met Aaron on South Padre. Aaron smiled, and I had to catch my bre
ath.
“I love him so much, Daddy,” I said as I squeezed my father’s arm.
Giving me a pat on my hand, he said, “I know you do. I kind of like him too.”
Giggling, I turned to my father and shook my head as we continued to make our way to my happily ever after.
Daddy and I stopped as I turned and he lifted my veil, giving me a kiss on the cheek as the pastor asked, “Who gives this woman away?”
Giving me a wink, my father turned to Aaron. “You don’t give a treasure away . . . ever. But I will entrust her to the man she loves more than anything.”
A small sob escaped from my lips as I silently cursed myself for already starting to cry.
Aaron went to take a step toward us when his smile faded and I knew exactly what was about to happen.
“Oh shit,” Aaron and I said at once.
Not five seconds later, Aaron face-planted right in front of everyone. Tristan and Lark both stepped up and looked down at Aaron laying on the ground, passed stone-cold out.
Lark let out a gruff laugh. “I was wondering when it was going to finally hit him.”
SIERRA LAID BACK WITH HER face soaking in the sun. Smiling, I walked over to her and leaned down to kiss her. “Are you enjoying yourself?” I asked against her lips.
“Mmm. I never want to leave this place. It’s amazing.”
Sitting down next to Sierra, I got lost in thought.
Yesterday we had gotten married for the second time at sunset on the beach. It was beyond perfect. Sierra looked beautiful in her short white dress with her hair pulled up with a few curls blowing in the wind. Something about it being just the two of us made it feel complete. Our wedding at my parents’ house was amazing as well. We had a ton of fun and partied into the night, until Azurdee’s water broke and we all rushed to the hospital. Seeing Akayla in Lark’s arms changed something inside me. I’d never seen a man look so incredibly happy. Here was this big tough marine, who had tears streaming down his face as he brought his daughter out to meet all of us.
Smiling, I knew now was the time to tell Sierra. I didn’t want to waste another second. Life was too precious. Taking a drink of my water, I sucked in an ice cube.