Chapter Fifteen

Stephen

I’m rooted to the spot, completely captivated by my bride.

I’ve just married the woman I love more than anything, and I can’t tear my eyes or hands away from her.

After our first kiss as husband and wife, I gently ran my hands up her sides, lifting her off the ground and pulling her close.

I couldn’t get enough of her. I showered her with kisses, not caring that we were surrounded by friends and family. All I wanted was her.

The cheers of our loved ones were a distant hum. All I could see was her radiant smile.

“Baby,” she giggles, “I think it’s time to put me down.”

“Never.” I kiss her again, slowly lowering her to the ground but keeping her close.

Hand in hand, we walk back down the aisle, basking in the congratulations of our friends and family.

We retreat to a quiet room in the winery pavilion, taking a moment to ourselves while everyone else prepares for the reception.

We’re waiting for our bridal party to join us for photos in the vineyards.

The moment we’re alone, I can’t resist pulling her into my arms again.

I hold her close, my head resting on her chest, my arms wrapped around her.

She strokes my hair, her fingers trailing down to my neck. Her lips press soft kisses to the top of my head.

She gently lifts my face to hers, capturing my lips in a kiss so full of love it brings tears to my eyes.

I surrender to her completely, our tongues moving together in a slow, deliberate dance.

I walk her backwards until she’s pressed against the wall. I lower her slightly so we’re face to face, continuing to kiss her deeply.

Our tongues twine together, the world fading away as we lose ourselves in each other.

Her hands tighten on my shoulders, pulling me closer. I set her down gently, her hand gripping my suit jacket as she pulls me closer.

I hold her hips, bending my knees to meet her. We’re lost in each other, breathless and desperate.

When I hear her soft purr, I have to pull back. I need to control myself or things could get out of hand.

I slow the kiss, trailing kisses across her cheek and nose.

“Mm, baby, you have to stop purring or I’m going to lose it.”

I stop kissing her, holding her face in my hands as we try to catch our breath.

“Sorry baby,” she blushes. “I just get so lost in you, I forget where I am.”

I pull her close, just holding her. Her arms are wrapped around my waist, mine protectively around her.

We’re interrupted by the arrival of Clint, Dave, Mia, and Luke, along with the photographer. They hug us and congratulate us again before we head out for photos.

I’m feeling overwhelmed, but every time I feel her touch, I’m instantly at ease.

We return to the pavilion. The reception area is stunning, elegant and classy, just like my wife.

“You’re amazing, doll. I can’t believe you organized all of this.”

“You give me too much credit, baby. I had a lot of help.”

“And you underestimate yourself,” I tell her. I kiss her softly. “Ready to do this?”

She nods, taking my hand in both of hers. We walk into the cheering crowd.

We enjoy a wonderful meal, drinks, and laughter.

I’m relieved when Clint and Luke keep their speeches PG. I can tell Trinity feels the same.

Finally, it’s my turn to speak. I pull Trinity to my side, wrapping my arm around her waist. Her arm is around my back, her hand stroking my chest.

“Firstly, thank you all for your kind wishes. It’s an honor to be here today with this woman. Distinguished guests, and those of no distinction at all–” I cough, “~Clint~!”

The crowd laughs.

“Friends, freeloaders, hangers-on, and any strays who may have wandered in from the vineyards, welcome to our wedding dinner.”

“Someone once told me a good speech has a good beginning and a good ending, and a great speech keeps them close together.”

“Unfortunately, this speech is neither good nor great, so get comfortable! And yes, security is at all the exits, so don’t even think about it.”

Everyone laughs again, and Trinity playfully slaps my butt.

“Now, seriously, I had a great speech prepared, full of humor, emotion, and sentiment. But now that I’m married, Trinity has given me a different speech to read.”

I wink at my wife, and the men in the room cheer in agreement.

“It’s hard to express our feelings on this special day, but it wouldn’t be so special without all of our friends and loved ones here.”

“Trinity and I are so touched and honored that you all made the effort to be here with us today. We’re really grateful to each and every one of you.”

“I want to thank my beautiful wife for making today happen, but more importantly, for putting up with me all these years.”

“When I saw Luke walking down the aisle with Trinity, I realized how much this day means.”

“Luke, I promise you, knowing how much she means to you, I’ll do my best to make Trinity as happy for the rest of her life as she is today.”

I turn to my wife, gently kissing her nose. I watch as she closes her eyes, savoring the moment.

I raise my glass to Luke, and he does the same in return.

“Traditionally, the bridesmaids get a bouquet of flowers and the men get a bottle of malt. But we wanted to give you something a bit more lasting, so we’ve booked non-refundable tattoo appointments for each of you to get a tattoo of one of our wedding photos when they come in.”

Everyone bursts into laughter.

“But seriously, we want to show you how much we appreciate everything you’ve done for us, and how much you’ve contributed to making this day special. So, we’d like to give these to you all.”

I wait as the waiters bring out the presents for them.

“To my best man, Clint. I owe him a big thank you. This morning, he even gave me a list of nice things to say about him.”

“But it just confirmed my suspicion that he’s a compulsive liar and I should ignore everything he says about me.”

We all burst into laughter.

“But really, you’ve been a great friend for more years than I can count and there’s no one else I’d rather have standing by my side on my wedding day.”

“Now, to my wife. I’m absolutely blown away by how stunning she looks today, and I can’t believe how lucky I am that she chose to be my wife.”

“Trinity, you’re my soul mate, the love of my life. I’m a very lucky man and I want to take this opportunity to tell you how excited I am to spend the rest of my life with you.”

“I hope that every day will be as happy as today. All that’s left to say is thank you to all of you for coming, especially those who traveled so far.”

“But the biggest thanks goes to the person who traveled the farthest, my new wife, who after almost two years since we first met and started this journey, is still right here by my side.”

“Ladies and Gentlemen, please join me in a toast to my beautiful bride!” Everyone claps and cheers as I gently kiss my wife and tell her how much I love her.

I take her hand gently in mine and lead her out to the dance floor.

“May I have this dance?”

“You may, my darling husband.”

As the music starts, our friends and family turn to watch as we take our first dance. My doll doesn’t know which song I picked, as she let me choose and I wanted to surprise her.

I pull her close to me, stroking her cheek with one hand as she grips my bicep and looks up into my eyes. My other hand is possessively around her waist as she rests hers on my shoulder.

And then, the music starts and Amazed by Lonestar comes on.

I see a tear fall down her cheek and I gently kiss it away before pulling her closer to me. The intro begins as I glide her across the stage, holding her body tight to mine.

I rest my mouth near her ear and as my opposite hand holds her head tenderly, she leans into me as I start singing softly into her ear.

“~Every time our eyes meet, this feeling inside me, is almost more than I can take. Baby when you touch me, I can feel how much you love me, and it just blows me away~.”

“~I've never been this close to anyone or anything, I can hear your thoughts, I can see your dreams. I don't know how you do what you do, I'm so in love with you, it just keeps getting better~.”

“~I want to spend the rest of my life with you by my side, forever and ever. Every little thing that you do, baby I'm amazed by you~.”

I feel her hold me tighter as I wipe her tears away. As the song continues, and we keep dancing, I keep reminding her how much I love her.

As the song ends and the next one starts, everyone joins us on the dance floor. We stay there, holding each other, for a few more songs.

I watch as Luke and Clint take turns dancing with my wife, while I share a dance with Mia and even Todd.

I smile as the room fills with the love of everyone who means the most to us.

After a few dances and everyone has had a chance to let their food settle, we bring out the cake for cutting.

We both hold the knife and carefully bring it down together.

“You touched the bottom, you have to kiss a boy now,” Clint teases.

We all chuckle and Trinity walks over to Clint, smears a bit of icing on his cheek, and kisses it off.

“You did say kiss a boy and not a man,” Trinity says with a wink at Clint and everyone roars with laughter.

We take a slice of our cake and as she brings it up for us both to take a bite, I take a big dollop of icing on my finger and smear it across her lips before I capture them in mine, sucking the delicious frosting off.

Everyone cheers and I take the chance to slide my tongue in her mouth, letting her taste the frosting in my mouth.

As I pull away from her, I whisper very softly into her ear, “Didn't taste near as good as your frosting does.”

As I watch her cheeks blush, I laugh and capture her lips again.

The night is winding down so we decide it’s time for the bouquet toss and garter. As my doll takes her spot at the front, I watch as she gets ready and tosses it.

One of the girls from her office was lucky to catch it and as Jess turned to her partner, we all roared in laughter as we watched him bolt for the exit.

Clint and Luke bring out a chair for my wife to sit on as the music starts and I get in front of her.

I slowly run my hands down the outside of her arms and down her beautiful stomach to the top of her thighs as I start to kneel down in front of her.

Her eyes held mine captive as she observed my every move, slow and calculated.

Suddenly, Luke and Clint’s voices boomed through the room, “If you take more than thirty seconds, we’re dragging you out of there!”

Laughter filled the room. I glanced up at my girl. “Which leg, sweetheart?”

“The left one, darling.”

I let my hands glide up her stunning leg, and just as I reached the top, she wiggled her toes against my crotch. She knew exactly how to tickle me in a way that would drive me wild.

“You’re a naughty one, aren’t you?” I teased.

Her eyes met mine, a smirk playing on her lips. I hooked my fingers around her garter, and just before I slid it down, I gave her a little stroke between her legs.

She almost gasped, but remembering all eyes were on us, she bit her lip and held my gaze.

I slid the garter down her leg and flung it over my head, not even bothering to look at the guys. I pulled her close, bringing her to the edge of her chair, and leaned in to kiss her.

The room erupted in cheers, then everyone returned to their conversations. We stayed there, wrapped in each other’s arms.

When I opened my eyes, I noticed the sun beginning to set. I took her hand and led her outside to the top of the vineyard. I pulled her close.

“I love you, my wife,” I whispered.

“And I love you, my husband.”

I pulled her closer, lifting her slightly off the ground to kiss her beautiful lips as the sun began to set on our wedding day.