Brighton

 

I stared at the bungalow before me in a state of awe and disbelief. It had a thatched roof and was completely ensconced by palms and lush greenery. But it was the white sand and ocean view behind that really had me at a loss for words. The aquamarine water lapped against the shore no more than fifty feet from where we stood. It was peaceful and serene, and completely surreal.

“This is amazing,” I squeaked.

“You like it?” he asked.

“Are you kidding me?” I stood up on my tiptoes and pulled his mouth to mine. “I can’t believe that places like this even exist.”

He smiled and threaded his fingers through mine before tugging me inside. Since I hadn’t been able to decide on a location for our ‘getaway’, he’d picked it out for us. One week on Little Palm island in the Florida Keys sounded like the stuff dreams were made of.

Inside, the suite was decked out like a luxurious island hut. Bamboo shutters filled the rooms with an abundance of natural light, and I could smell the sea breeze filtering through every inch of the place. It was cleansing. Peaceful. Romantic. And it felt like a fresh start for us. It was so unlike Ryland, but seeing me happy made him happy. And right then and there, I made it my ultimate goal to get him to relax completely on this trip with me.

“Thank you for bringing me here.” I wrapped my arms around his waist and squeezed. “This is exactly what I needed.”

“Anything for you, baby girl.”

He hauled me towards the bedroom without any more preamble, and I laughed at his impatience. The room was romantic with a mosquito net draped from the ceiling and fluffy white linens piled high over the bed. A bottle of chilled champagne sat tucked off to the side, and I pouted when I realized I couldn’t have any of it. That thought disappeared when Ryland started to grope me in earnest.

“I need to be inside of you,” he murmured. “It’s been too long.”

“You were just inside of me this morning,” I retorted.

And yet I agreed with him. It had been too long. He pulled my dress up over my head and discarded it on the floor before kneeling down in front of me. His hands inched up the back of my thighs and gripped my ass, squeezing before he lifted me up onto the bed.

Next came my sandals, followed by him massaging my instep as he went.

“You can do that all day,” I encouraged.

“You like that?” he asked. “What about this?”

He kissed the bottom of my foot, and I tried to wiggle it away from him. “Ryland.”

He kissed it again with a smirk and then proceeded to do the same all the way up my calf. When he reached my thighs, he nudged them apart and pulled me to the edge of the bed at the same time. My panties were directly in front of his face, and they were already sticking to my skin. Two seconds of him touching me and I was a panting, writhing mess.

He leaned forward and rubbed his nose along the cloth, inhaling deeply. I didn’t get embarrassed anymore when he did that. Now I savored these moments. The moments when he flagrantly indulged in his sordid whims and enjoyed every second of it. He took it to another level when he ran his tongue along the material and then sucked it into his mouth.

“You taste so good,” he grunted. “It’s been too long since I’ve had this.”

“I know,” I whined.

Since my hormones had interrupted him this morning, I’d missed out. I had no intention of allowing that to happen twice, so I reached for his hair and pulled him closer. I needed his mouth on me, and I said as much. It drove him crazy.

My panties disappeared down my legs, and soon he was spreading me apart with his fingers. His tongue slid inside of me, and I jerked against him. I wasn’t going to last. At all. Knowing how sensitive my breasts were, Ryland further sped up the process when he reached up to fondle them.

“Oh, God.” It came without warning, fast and hard, tearing through me and leaving me dizzy and gasping for air.

“You’re making my job exceptionally easy these days,” Ryland remarked as he stood and undressed.

I watched with heavy eyes and felt my arousal stirring again already. “Not really, because I think I’m going to be insatiable this week. You’ll probably need a vacation from this vacation by the time we’re through.”

“Don’t provoke me, Brighton.” He lowered himself between my legs. “I have every intention of giving you a very thorough fucking every day that we spend here.”

“Ever the incurable romantic,” I teased.

He pushed into me and dragged his teeth along my throat at the same time. “Do you want romance, Brighton?” he murmured.

It sounded like a genuine question, but I didn’t have time to analyze. My baser desires were taking over, and he was still entirely too gentle with me. I sank my nails into his back, and he made a noise of approval.

“I want you to mark me,” I declared.

He gripped my chin between his fingers and glared. “Remember who you’re talking to.”

His eyes had that look in them. The one that told me Ryland was about to take charge and totally rock my world. Or so I thought.

He started to move, in much too gentlemanly of a fashion, and it frustrated the hell out of me. The further along I got, the more he restrained himself. I understood his fears, but my doctor assured me it was fine. 

“You aren’t going to hurt me,” I coaxed.

“Brighton.” His voice was thick with warning.

I smiled and pulled his mouth to mine, whispering against his lips. “Please, Ryland. I need you. This is what we do- what we’ve always done.”

My words seemed to melt some of his resolve, and I was glad for it. He kissed his way down my jaw and into the valley between my throat and collar bone. And then he sank his teeth into me with a groan.

He’d missed it too.

I tugged on his hair and panted against him, urging my hips upward to meet his thrusts. They were getting faster, harder, and I was so fucking happy I could scream. When my orgasm swept through me, I did.

My contractions set Ryland off inside of me, and soon he was collapsing beside me with a groan. He pulled me into his arms and spread my hair across his chest before he started stroking my back. His heart stuttered beneath my cheek, and I smiled up at him when mine followed suit. We were in sync again, and I felt like nothing could tear us apart.

 

***

 

I fluttered my eyes open and let the sun wash over me as the hammock swayed gently in the breeze. This truly was paradise. Ryland lay beside me, reading from one of the baby books he’d brought with him. I thought it was adorable how much he was studying up on this. At least one of us would be prepared.

“We’ll have to start thinking of some names soon,” I told him.

He blinked up at me, and there was something weird in his expression that told me he’d already been thinking about this. But I wanted to run my idea by him first. The problem was, it could either go very well or very badly.

“I have one in mind,” I volunteered. “If you’d like to hear it.”

He shut the book and gave me his full attention. “You do?”

“Yeah.” I shrugged and started drawing circles on his chest with my finger. He looked like he belonged on this island year round with his skin. I was jealous.

“Well?” he grabbed my fingers and pulled them to his lips, kissing them one by one. “What is it?”

He was being so sweet. I really didn’t want to ruin this moment. But I also really wanted to have this name on the table. I closed my eyes when I said it so I didn’t have to see his reaction. I couldn’t bear it if I hurt him.

“I was thinking maybe Jacob Jackson Lockhart.”

I felt him tense against me, and there was a long pause of silence. I still couldn’t open my eyes. I was too chicken.

“Brighton,” he spoke gently. “Look at me.”

I did. And I was relieved to find his eyes weren’t nearly as cloudy as I expected them to be. In fact, there was something else there. Something that looked kind of like a small glimmer of hope.

“I like it,” he said.

“You do?”

“Yes.” He kissed me on the temple. “It’s just like you to think of something like that.”

I curled against him and smiled. That went way easier than I expected. Things really were different between us.

“I just have one concession,” he added.

I frowned, thinking maybe I’d spoken too quickly. “What is it?”

“The last name- it’s dead to me for a reason. I’ll never be Jacob Lockhart again, and our baby can’t be associated with that name either.”

“Why not?” I asked.

“Because…” He ran an anxious hand through his hair. “There are still people out there who could use that against me. When my father’s business started to tank, he made some bad decisions. I still don’t know the extent of them, and I’d rather not ever find out.”

“Oh.”

It made sense, what he was saying. But it also worried me. “So, would we ever be in danger?”

“No,” he said adamantly. “But I can never be too careful, and I wouldn’t ever take any chances with you, Brighton. I will always do whatever it takes to protect you, you know that right?”

I did know that. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that Ryland would protect me no matter what. And it only made me love him more. “I know.” I nodded.

“You are the most important thing in my life, and soon there’ll be another. We’re going to be a family.”

His words socked me in the gut and brought tears to my eyes. I knew how much that word meant to him. And if I didn’t, I could see it clearly on his face. This was his second chance at life. And I would do everything in my power to bring Ryland Bennett happiness. We both settled back against the hammock, and silence engulfed us. It was the good kind. The comfortable kind. I was listening to his heartbeat, drifting off to sleep when his fingers trailed over my cheek and turned my face towards him.

“Do you like it here?” he asked.

“Of course I do.” I smiled up at him. “This place is amazing, Ryland. I could stay here forever with you.”

My words seemed to fill him with relief. But then he looked nervous again as he reached into his pocket.

“Brighton, we’re having a baby together. I can’t tell you how fucking incredible that is. I never thought I would want these things, but I do. I want them with you.”

I reached up and stroked his cheek. He looked so passionate about what he was saying I just wanted to tear his shorts off and bury him inside of me again.

“There isn’t anyone else I would want it with either,” I told him.

“Good,” he said. “Because I have something else to say.”

He paused for a moment and blew out a breath. I’d never seen Ryland look so nervous, and it was freaking me out a little.

“I want you to be my wife.”

I was dumbfounded, and even more so when he pulled a velvet box from out of nowhere. He held it towards me with the strong fingers I had come to love, and I realized what was happening. I felt dizzy, and I had to sit up. He followed with an anxious expression. I still hadn’t touched the box. I couldn’t seem to get my body or brain to cooperate.

“Brighton?”

“Are you… proposing to me?” I squeaked.

It was his turn to look dumbfounded. “I thought I’d made that clear.”

“There wasn’t really a question in that statement,” I remarked. It was such a Ryland proposal. I wouldn’t have expected anything different from him, nor would I have wanted it.

He looked at a loss for words, and it was the first time I’d ever seen him struggling with what to say. I put him out of his misery by biting my lip and nodding. “Yes, Ryland. I’ll be your wife.”

“Jesus,” he cursed in relief. “I really thought you were going to say no for a minute. Goddammit, Brighton, I love you so fucking much.”

I laughed when he pulled me across his lap and started peppering me with kisses. He was like a little boy on Christmas morning, and I felt exactly the same way. My heart was going to burst with happiness. He pulled out the box and opened it, taking my breath away when I saw the blood-red stone nestled within. It was cushion cut and ensconced in black gold, and the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen, apart from him.

“Oh my God, Ryland.”

“It’s a red diamond,” he said. “A little bit of darkness for your light.”

“Do I even want to know how much this thing cost?”

“No.” He grinned and slid it onto my finger with a heated flare of possession in his eyes. 

I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled his face to mine, kissing him deeply. I couldn’t believe this man was going to be my husband. It didn’t even seem real.

Ryland was hard against me, and I didn’t waste any time reaching down to free his erection while he untied my bikini and tossed it aside. Thank God he’d booked the only suite with private beach access because I didn’t think I’d be able to wait another moment to have him inside of me.

I slid down onto him at the same time my eyes locked onto his. I was never going to get tired of this moment. The deep intimacy I felt when we connected in this way, and he looked at me with that sense of pride and ownership. Some women might be disgusted by it. But I was, and always would be, irrevocably his.

I reached for his face and showered him with kisses. “I love you, Ryland Bennett.” And then with a grin, I added, “so fucking much.”

 

***

 

Ryland frowned when he poked his head out onto the back deck and saw me soaking my feet in the hot tub.

“Baby, what are you doing?”

“Relaxing.” I laughed.

He didn’t seem amused. “You’re not supposed to be in the hot tub.”

“I’m not,” I rebutted. “It’s just my feet. As long as I’m not submerged…”

“I still don’t like it.” He walked over and reached for my hands to help me up. “Let’s not take any chances, okay?”

This was Ryland’s overprotective nature showing again. God help our poor child. Still, I smiled. Because I knew he was doing these things out of love. I stood up and let him lead me back into the bedroom.

“I have something else to talk to you about anyway,” he said.

“What is it?” I asked.

He helped me onto the bed and then grabbed a towel, drying my feet for me as he spoke.

“I don’t want to wait,” he said. “But I know you might have something else in mind, so I’d like to talk to you about the wedding.”

“Oh.”

The wedding. I hadn’t even thought about it. It was something most little girls dreamed about their entire life. But I didn’t have a lot of people to invite to a wedding, and the only part I cared about was that I got to pledge my love to Ryland forever.

“Do you want a big wedding?” he asked. “With the dress and cake and flowers. If that’s what you want, then that’s what you’ll get, Brighton.”

He started to massage my feet, and I found it difficult to articulate what I wanted. All I knew was I didn’t want him to stop doing that.

“I don’t need any of those things,” I said. “I just want you.”

His eyes filled with relief, and the next thing I knew, he was pulling me across his lap, kissing the hell out of me.

“I’m crazy in love with you,” he murmured.

I threaded my fingers through his as he kissed his way down my throat, licking the red mark he’d left on me the night before. He wouldn’t admit it, but he was glad I’d pushed him to do it.

“I was thinking we could have it here,” he said. “On the beach.”

“Here?” I blinked. “Like this week?”

“Is that a problem?” he asked.

Geez, he really wasn’t wasting any time. I kind of loved that. The idea that he wanted to make me his as soon as possible.

“That would be really nice,” I agreed.

But then something occurred to me, something I hadn’t thought of before.

“Nicole would probably be really hurt though when she finds out.”

“I’ll fly her down here,” Ryland said. “Matt too.”

And just like that, he made my worries disappear. “Let’s do it.” I grinned. “Let’s get married here. This week. Oh my God.”

I wiggled around in his lap, and he smiled. “I’ll always give you what you want, baby girl.”