“It is good to be home,” Aidan said, smiling. “Samuel, this is my wife, Mary, and our dog, Max.”
The older man smiled as he took one of Mary’s hands between his. “Delighted to meet you, Mary.” He turned to Aidan. “She is even more beautiful than you led us to believe,” he said with a wink.
“Watch him, Mary. Samuel is the epitome of the charming Southern gentlemen.”
“You are too kind, sir,” the older man said, but Mary could tell he was pleased.
Any worries she had about Max being a problem quickly faded when Samuel reached down and gave Max a good scratch behind the ears. “He looks just like Rhett.”
“Rhett?” Mary asked. “As in Rhett Butler?”
Aidan looked slightly embarrassed. “It was Rebecca’s idea. She was obsessed with Gone With the Wind when we were kids.”
*
“Your rooms have been prepared, if you would care to freshen up.”
“Absolutely,” Aidan said, his eyes carefully watching his new bride. Mary seemed to be handling everything quite well, but her wider-than-normal eyes and surreptitious glances gave her away. She’d had the same look the first time he’d taken her to his condo – an adorable mix of awe and panic. And, just like then, an hour or two alone would provide exactly the distraction he needed.
“It’s all real, isn’t it?” Mary murmured a short while later, running her index finger along the vein of gold in the black marble vanity of his private bathroom. Aidan slipped his arms around her waist and kissed her temple. “What is?”
“You. The Goddess. This house. Your family. All of it.”
“Yes.” Standing behind her, he untucked her blouse and lifted it up over her head. He looked at their reflection in the mirror, murmuring his approval of her white satin bra. “This is lovely, but it’s got to go.”
A flick of his long fingers, and the clasp was undone. He peeled back the cups and replaced them. Within seconds her nipples began to peak and harden as he plumped and tweaked. “My hands are full. Slip that skirt over your hips, will you?”
Mary obeyed, without hesitation. “Mmmmm, a matching set,” he observed. “Very nice.”
One hand remained on her breast, the other slipped down into her panties. With a few swirls of his fingers she was leaning against him, moving her hips against his hand. He allowed it. Had they been at home, he might have drawn things out, but he wanted her boneless and sated as quickly as possible.
“What if they don’t like me?” she managed.
“They’ll love you.”
“But I’m not part of this world, Aidan.”
He paused in his ministrations until she met his eyes in the mirror. “Yes, you are, Mary. You are mine, and everything I have is now yours.”
It was true. Aidan had refused to consider a prenuptial agreement, despite his lawyers’ objections. Even Mary had suggested it more than once, but his mind was made-up. Mary was his croie, and as such, was entitled.
Most women would have been thrilled by that, but not Mary. “What if they think I just married you for your money?”
He nipped the tender skin along the curve of her neck. “You didn’t.”
“Well of course not. But - ”
“Enough. The only ‘but’ I care to explore is this one right here.” He punctuated that statement with a light smack on her behind, then followed with some heavy, petting caresses. “You have a lovely ass, Mary. Looking at it makes me want to do wicked, wicked things.”
His gazed flicked to the mirror again, just in time to see the heat flare in her eyes. A moment later her panties were down around her ankles and he was pressing her upper back toward the vanity. “Christ, Mary, do you have any idea what you do to me?”
Aidan unfastened his pants, and without bothering to remove them, plunged inside her. “Mine, all mine,” he chanted. “Say it, Mary. Say you belong to me.”
“I belong to you,” she agreed breathlessly.
He pulled almost all the way out and paused. “And I belong to you. Say it.”
“And you belong to me.”
He thrust into her again until he was fully engulfed, then retreated. “Everything else is trivial.”
“Everything else is trivial.”
He rewarded her with several more thrusts, angling himself for the deepest penetration. When he felt her growing close to her peak, he pulled out and lifted her onto the sink so they were face to face. “Look at me, Mary. Tell me you love me, and that nothing else matters.”
Her big brown eyes locked onto his, filled with so much love his chest nearly burst from the joy of it. Her hands snaked around his neck even as her legs encircled his hips, drawing him closer. “I love you, Aidan Harrison, and nothing else matters.”
Aidan’s lips crushed against hers as he slipped back inside and began to move with thorough, possessive strokes. They reached their peak together. Aidan held her close to him, soaking in the wonder of his croie.
“That was amazing,” she crooned against his chest.