SWAYING IN HER husband’s arms as he sang a Bruno Mars song, Angie felt nothing but love for her incredible man. He was her everything, and nothing would ever change that.
At the last chorus, he held her face in his hands and delivered the lyrics that proclaimed her beautiful and amazing. The emotion in his voice made her eyes fill and her lips tremble.
In a flash, she saw them years from now, still laughing and loving surrounded by children and family. In the perfect world of her imagination, she imagined a little girl with Parker’s amazing smile and a boy who looked a lot like her dad.
She was Mrs. Parker Sullivan. The secret and not-so-secret longings in her heart as a little girl, a young woman, and an adult had magically come true. The love she’d always had for him, he returned tenfold. Angie felt cherished, adored, revered, and respected.
Lucky? Try blessed.
“Don’t ever let go,” she made him promise when the song ended, and he folded her into a fierce embrace.
They danced, drank more champagne, laughed, and strolled down the teak walkway to the beach. The moon shone bright, illuminating a double lounger with pillows stacked high.
Angie reclined between his legs with her back on his chest and Parker’s arm around her torso. He played with her hair as they enjoyed the beautiful moonlight dancing on the water.
Over the course of the day, they’d lost the teasing edge to their playtime. She touched the delicate gold necklace with the diamond heart. He wasn’t her Sir right now, and kitten had to wait for another time.
She stretched her arms up until her hands were on the back of his neck. Angie gave him room when he moved her hair and began kissing her jaw and ear. The low-cut neckline of the negligee made it easy for him to slip his hands beneath the lace to cup her breast.
Her fingers speared into his hair, rubbing at his scalp as he sucked her earlobe into his mouth and fondled her breasts. She writhed slightly. Goose bumps spread across her skin.
The dull ache started soon after. Acutely aware of her body readying for his possession, Angie felt sexually alive. Something powerfully deep and organic had always existed with their connection, but this felt different. Was it just imagination that made her feel as though their souls lined up? Was this how new life was created?
Pulling the gown up her thighs to get it out of the way, she rolled and turned until she was sitting on her feet between his spread legs. The key that symbolized her heart lay on his chest. A fever of need seized Angie.
She admired his body while he watched her through hooded eyes. The look on his face was familiar. Her open appreciation of his manly form gave Parker a thrill. He wasn’t vain—not by a long shot. The only care he gave for how he looked revolved entirely around what she liked. If she wanted him to wax his balls, he would. The very thought made her want to laugh.
“Touch me, Angel.”
The deep thrum of arousal in his voice demolished her self-restraint. She would never be able to see or hear evidence of his desire without needing to answer the call.
“Don’t let this go to your head, Counselor, but you are one hot piece of manly ass.”
She stroked his chest and purred with appreciation. Although the smoldering intensity in his eyes didn’t change, he grinned.
Tweaking his supersize manly ego, she teased him by asking, “Is all this going to disappear now that we’re married?”
“Depends on what you feed me,” he replied with a husky chuckle. “I prefer the P’s.”
Angie sat back and looked at him twice. “What?”
“Yeah, the three P’s. Pizza, protein, and pussy.”
She grabbed his chin and shook his head while bawling with laughter. “Such a gentleman.”
He wrapped his very big hand around her small neck and held tight. “Plenty of face sitting in your future, Angel.”
If he imagined the subtle power play of holding her neck gave him an advantage, he surrendered his upper hand with haste when she counter-maneuvered by running her fingers along his muscular thighs while she cooed about his sexy silk pajama bottoms.
“I enjoy a good drawstring,” she murmured through swipes of her tongue along his lips.
His thick, gruff chuckle encouraged her wickedness. She made a production out of plucking at the silky drawstring on his bottoms until enough give exposed his abdomen and offered a peek at the delight still hidden from view.
Her first move was to lick him from groin to neck with a long continuous swipe of her tongue. While she was in the area, Angie bit his neck, mauled the skin on his shoulder, and then nibbled a path to his nipples.
He moaned and groaned while she mimicked what he did to her breasts. Stroking the pleasure nubs with her tongue, she used her teeth for tiny bites and sucked his flesh into her mouth. His lusty response surprised her.
He drew her over his body for a ravenous kiss that stole her senses.
A warm breeze rustled the tall palms along the shoreline. Overhead, a gazillion stars twinkled in the night sky. More sensory input than she could process assailed Angie’s entire being.
Prepared to continue the seduction, she was a little stunned when Parker folded her in his arms and cradled her against his big body. Angie loved this about her new husband. He didn’t rush, and his appreciation of the smallest things filled her with joy.
He complimented the perfume she wore and stroked her hair with a loving caress. The way his big hands touched her and the way he explored her body was nothing short of thrilling.
“You look magnificent in white.”
She raised her head from his shoulder and searched his face. “I love the negligee.”
His delighted smirk was vintage Parker, landing somewhere between elated and alpha arrogant. Angie started to chuckle. What had he imagined? That she’d rather an old t-shirt or one of Sophie’s snarky flannel shrouds?
“And I love the pjs,” she teased with a sly smirk. “Not for bed, mind you. But they are quite nice from a visual perspective.”
He laughed. “Which view? Front? Rear? Profile?”
“Oh, my god.” She giggled. “Are you actually grubbing for compliments?”
“I wouldn’t have to if you’d just display the appropriate amount of awe for your husband’s impressiveness.”
“Impressiveness, huh?”
Angie did a double take when a for-real pout tugged the corners of his mouth. What the hell? Was he insecure? No way!
“Logged hours in the gym before the wedding.”
She struggled to keep the grin off her face at the surprising admission that Parker Sullivan, Mr. Hunk McHunky, had the same worries she did in front of a mirror. Knowing he wanted to please her sent Angie’s heart soaring with happiness.
Exultant at the opportunity to bestow some wifely ego stroking, she admired his muscular chest with her hands and reacted to his gym comment. “What the hell for?” She added a snicker and made a face. “I’m going to jump on you no matter what, so feel free to shut up the personal trainer in your head.”
He seemed satisfied with her answer and went back to cradling her on his chest.
The stones in her engagement ring sparkled in the moonlight as she studied her hand on his chest. Everything felt right and perfect now that they were legally joined in an ever after kind of way.
“Tell me something about the future, Parker.”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
Angie shifted and tilted her face to look at him. “This honeymoon. You thought about it, right?”
His chest moved when he grunted. “For a long time, Angel.”
“So tell me something else. What are your hopes and wishes?”
Something about the simple question made him seize up. She searched his eyes and jolted slightly when she saw tears and an uncharacteristic vulnerability.
“Parker? What is it?” Her distress was evident. “Please, tell me.”
He hugged her so tight she almost yelped in alarm.
“I will die if you leave me, Angelina.”
She pushed off his chest and sat up so fast that he shifted out of her way.
“What?” She barked the question and gaped at him. “Leave you? Excuse me? Did I miss something?”
The vulnerability in his expression remained after he wiped away a tear. “I don’t think you fully understand how much I love you, baby girl.”
“Okay. Stop.”
She stood none too gracefully, slapped her hands on her hips, and glared at him.
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
Her reaction must have shot some sense into his brain because he had the good sense to look a bit sheepish.
“Shit.” He groaned. Swinging his legs off the lounger, he sat with his head in his hands for a moment and then met her gaze.
Whatever insanity was running around in his head had to stop. Immediately. She wasn’t about making no babies if he was harboring doubts.
“Are you daft?” she yelled. “Jesus fucking Christ, Parker. I have loved you every damn day of my whole life. We’ve been down this road before. Even when all seemed lost, the love never wavered. Not for a second. So in what far-fetched scenario from your lawyer brain have you concocted a situation that would erase all that? You’re in for a bit of shock if you imagine for a nanosecond that I’m ever leaving your sorry ass.”
“Angel,” he murmured. His hand came out asking for hers, but she wasn’t having it. Someone was about to get an ass kicking.
“No,” she snapped and smacked his hand away. “What fucking part of this isn’t meeting your expectations?”
Tears flooded her eyes. Goddammit. Why were men so stupid?
Lifting the hem of her gown in shaking hands, she whirled away from him and stomped along the wood walkway like a mad four-year-old.
“Angie, wait!”
The sound of her angry foot stomps echoed in the night. Whirling back to him, she yelled into his shocked face. “Did you seriously just fuck up a romantic interlude with some crazy bullshit out of the blue?”
He put up both hands in surrender. “Okay. I fucked up. Please calm down.”
Oh. No. He. Didn’t.
Gasping, she glared at her husband. In that split second, she realized just how unbelievably simple minded a man in love could be.
“Did you just tell me to calm down?”
Angie was pretty sure the generations of women who’d gone before her had a universal howling laugh at her explosive use of the one sentence that shriveled a man’s balls.
Parker’s facial expressions unloaded one after another.
Oh, shit.
How stupid can I be?
Wow, she’s really mad.
And, Note to self: never use the expression calm down.
She shook her head and scowled. What a fucking idiot! Throwing her hands up, she growled, “Men!” and proceeded to stomp away with Parker hot on her heels.
“Baby, please,” he pleaded with her.
“You are an asshat, Counselor.”
She took the three wide steps to the porch and headed into the living room.
“Angel.”
The tone he used almost made her turn around, but she wasn’t finished making him sweat.
“Kitten,” he growled. “Even a condemned man gets to make a statement.”
When he played the Dom card, she reacted swiftly.
“That is so unfair!” The meaning in her accusation didn’t need spelling out.
He gestured with both hands, palms up. “You demanded there be no on-off switch. This is how it is.”
Sputtering angrily, she pushed her hair behind her ears. When her fingers found the Tiare flower, it took some of the wind out of her raging sails. The last thing she expected was for her lip to tremble. But it did.
“You hurt my feelings.”
There. She said it. Angie crossed her arms and deliberately turned her head away.
He was quick to offer an apology, but she still didn’t look at him.
“I’m sorry. Your question took me by surprise. I wasn’t prepared, and unfortunately, my head exploded with a worst-case scenario instead of a happy thought. Sometimes even I speak before I think.”
“Not saying something because you think you’re clever doesn’t make the worry disappear. I can’t believe you think I’d ever walk away from you.”
She started to cry. It hurt her heart to know he carried such a horrible thought.