“Of course.” She smiled and waved us off, turning away and joining the rest of the bridal party.
Chester slid his hands up my arms and grabbed my hands, gently pulling me to follow him down the long hallway toward the lobby of the hotel.
“Where are we going?” I asked, laughing softly as I tried to keep up with his quick stride.
“If I stare at you any longer in that dress, there’s no telling if I’ll rip it off at the reception,” he said, his eyes wandering down the bodice of my dress.
“The reception!” I exclaimed, looking back toward everyone sipping champagne.
“Isafterthe cocktail hour,” he reminded me, pressing the button for the elevator.
“Chester!” I said, following him into the elevator where his lips crashed into mine hungrily. His hands slid up my back and hovered over my hair, careful not to mess up the updo that had taken an hour for my hairstylist to do.
“I can’t help it,” he said, pulling away from our kiss briefly. “You’re mywife.”
My knees felt weak hearing the words tumble off his tongue and against my lips. I leaned into our kiss, trailing my tongue along his lips, as the elevator continued its ascent.
When the elevator doors opened, we practically tumbled out of the gold doors and ran down the hallway toward our suite. Chester slid the card across the keypad, the click of the door sounding. Before I could take a step inside, he swooped me up in his arms like I weighed nothing and carried me over the threshold.
“Romantic,” I said with a smirk.
He wiggled his brows and carried me to the bed, laying me down carefully like I might break. He stood over me, running his fingers along his jaw in thought, as he looked down at me.
“I’m going to have to be careful with this,” he mused.
“Not too careful,” I said with a sly smile.
He chuckled, a low rumble escaping his throat, as he approached the bed. He knelt into the mattress, his hands finding the hem of my dress and carefully sliding it up my legs. The white, tulle fabric bunched up around my hips as I kicked off my shoes.
“Mrs. Brandfield,” Chester exclaimed, his eyes widening. “I do believe you’ve forgotten your undergarments.”
I bit my lip and shook my head.
“Youknewthis would happen.”
“Ihopedit would.”
It was true. I hoped he would steal me away to christen our marriage before continuing the night’s festivities. I had a pair of lace boy shorts to wear for the rest of the night. I wasn’t about to give everyone a show at the garter removal later.
Chester quickly scrambled from the bed and reached for the waistband of his pants, quickly working the clasp and zipper, until they fell to his feet. He kicked them off along with his shoes before climbing back over me. I pulled him in for a kiss, not bothering with undoing the buttons of his shirt or even removing his jacket. He let out a low moan into my mouth as his hands roamed under the tulle of my dress that would take way too much work to take off. We had to be back down at the ballroom in thirty minutes.
I reached for Chester and guided him toward me eagerly. I was met with a handful of firmness, making me let out an anticipatory sigh.
“I love you,” I whispered, our eyes meeting, our faces just inches away.
“I love you,” he replied just before slipping into me, slowly and intently, making me see stars as if the ceiling of our suite had disappeared, revealing the night sky.
Twenty minutes later, we lay intertwined in a heap of tulle and soft, black wool. Chester smiled at me as he studied my face, reaching for a strand of my hair that had fallen out of place.
“Am I a mess?” I asked worriedly.
“Not at all,” he said, shaking his head before pressing a small kiss to my nose.
“We’re married,” I said.
“I know.” He grinned.
“Is it everything you thought it would be?”
