Chapter Eight
“Breathe Amy, just breathe.” She felt like she was about to hyperventilate as she stood in the dressing room inside the huge mansion. She’d spent the morning being pampered for her wedding day.
Her hair was up in a bun with curls cascading down her neck and face. Her make-up had been expertly applied to erase the dark circles and highlight her eyes and mouth. Her nails were extended and painted. She didn’t even feel like herself. They’d just put her in the most magnificent dress she’d ever seen and she was staring in the mirror at a stranger. Who was the girl gazing back at her? They had thankfully given her a few blessed minutes to calm herself, which she was grateful for.
“It’s time Amy,” she heard Joseph say softly. That was enough to make her turn her head. She’d never heard him speak without his normal booming tenor. He looked so handsome in his tuxedo.
She definitely knew who the boys got their great looks from. He was so alike and yet so different from Lucas.
Joseph had great looks and had aged well. The biggest difference between Joseph and Lucas were their eyes. Lucas’s eyes were always so focused and determined, where Joseph’s had laugh lines around them and always seemed to sparkle. He seemed to be so much more relaxed and at ease. She wondered if he’d been that way his whole life or if there was a time he’d held that same focused look as his son.
Joseph walked up and kissed her on the cheek. “I’m so glad to finally have a daughter in the family. You’re beautiful inside and out,” he wrapped his large arms around her for a gentle hug.
Those words meant so much to her. He would never know how much she needed to be included in a loving family. She would give up any amount of money to be loved the way Joseph loved his children. She was getting just a piece of that now and didn’t ever want to let it go.
“I know that your own father isn’t here and I wanted to say that I would be more than honored if you would allow me to walk you down the aisle this afternoon,” he said with some tears in his eyes.
Amy’s eyes were burning, as she replied to his kind offer. “It would be my honor to have you escort me. You’re the kind of father I always dreamed of having.” She couldn’t say anything further because she got entirely too choked up as she looked into his kind eyes. He pulled her close for a hug and she clung to him, hoping he would never let her go. She’d been so careful in her years to not get too attached to people, yet in a few short months she loved Lucas’s entire family.
“Now, now, you don’t want to get all teary eyed and ruin that makeup. I don’t think my son could handle any delays. He’s already pacing up and down the hallway. The preacher just led him to his spot at the altar,” Joseph chuckled.
Amy took one final look in the mirror and then took a deep breath, “I’m ready,” she said. She took Josephs arm as he led her out of the room. Amy heard the music begin as they stepped through the doorway.
She gasped and the only thing that kept her from running was Joseph gripping her arm. “I thought only a few people would be here,” she whispered to him.
“Now Amy, don’t be frightened. My oldest son’s finally getting married and we couldn’t hurt anyone’s feelings by not including them in the affair,” he said to her, making her feel some guilt about not wanting all the strangers staring at her.
Amy took a deep breath and felt the nerves running through her entire body as they took the first steps down the beautifully made aisle. She looked straight ahead because she feared if she faced the stranger’s faces she would turn around and run.
Suddenly she spotted Lucas at the end of the aisle, just a short distance from her. He took her breath away with how beautiful of a man he was. Their eyes met and held. He gave her a smile that seemed to tell her everything would be okay.
Amy felt like the wind had been knocked out of her. She stopped to catch her breath. Joseph looked at her quizzically, but she didn’t notice. She didn’t notice anything but the way her body was quivering.
She was in love with him. She loved him so much she couldn’t imagine her life without him. He was going to be her husband and he didn’t love her. She didn’t know how she was going to get through the wedding. She didn’t know how she could be with him every single day, making love and raising a child and knowing he didn’t love her. She was barely holding herself together.
Joseph prompted her and she finally began to walk forward again. She had to fight to keep the tears away. Maybe he would fall in love with me, she tried to comfort herself. But if he thought she’d somehow trapped him into the marriage, how would he ever trust her, much less love her?
He knew she hadn’t planned the pregnancy but he was honorable in doing what was right for his child and therefore would always feel like he was trapped.
There was nothing she could do at the moment, so she would continue on down the aisle and get the wedding over with. She was a strong person. She would have to store away her love and try to survive the whole thing.
Lucas felt a moment of panic as Amy stopped halfway down the aisle. Was she going to turn and run? He wouldn’t let her get far. He knew how badly she wanted her baby and as much as it hurt him to trap her he couldn’t let them go. In the months he’d known her she’d invaded his every sense and he couldn’t picture a future any longer without her in it.
He breathed a sigh of relief as they began walking towards him, again. When his father placed her hand in his and then stepped up to stand beside him, he felt a feeling of calmness wash over him. He had her in his arms and he wasn’t going to let her go.
He barely heard the preacher saying the vows. He focused just enough to repeat the words he needed to say but other than that his mind was consumed by his beautiful bride.
She was a vision, unlike anything he’d ever seen before. He’d dated models and heiresses. He’d been with far more women than he should’ve been with but none of them had been able to cause the tightening in his gut like Amy could. She had a natural beauty that outshone the brightest stars of Hollywood.
He would move heaven and earth to have her be his wife forever. He was falling in love with her, he realized. He was shocked to the depths of his soul by that revelation. He couldn’t let her know of his feelings because then she would know she had the power to drop him to his knees and beg her for mercy.
He wouldn’t let her destroy him. He would be a good husband and she would learn to love him and not his name and not his money. Please God, let her love me and not what I can give her, he secretly added to his vows of love, honor and obey.
They finished the ceremony and the preacher told him to kiss his new bride. Lucas gave a full-fledged smile. “Gladly.” then he bent her slightly backwards and consumed her mouth. They both forgot they were standing in a room full of people.
Neither of them had any idea how long the kiss continued. They may as well have been alone in their bedroom. It had been so long since he’d held her and tasted the sweet nectar of her lips.
“Ah son, you have plenty of time for that during the honeymoon,” Joseph interrupted the pair and slapped his son on the back. The crowd laughed at Lucas’s enthusiasm. Amy turned scarlet and Lucas looked like a very proud husband.
To all those witnessing the wedding that afternoon, the marriage looked like a union of love, which was going to last forever. The way each of them looked at one another could only be described as besotted.
They walked down the aisle as Joseph led the vast group of people to the backyard. Amy was once again in awe of the Anderson family. She couldn’t believe they’d planned the wedding in less than a week.
The yard had glamorous tents set up, with linen covered tables filling them. There was soft lighting, a dance floor and an entire band playing music. Caterers carried around trays of champagne and food, attending to the guests.
On each table sat crystal, china and the most beautiful flower arrangements she could’ve ever wished for. She decided to enjoy the day that was all about her. She would imagine it was a real wedding, with a loving groom at her side.
Lucas had wanted all the silly little traditional things. He didn’t even know why. God knew it wasn’t a traditional wedding. Amy probably thought it more appropriate to have guards with guns ushering her from station to station.
He was surprised to see she seemed to be enjoying herself. She wasn’t gloating or acting like she’d won a game. She appeared to be in slight awe and genuinely happy. His bride was full of surprises or she was one phenomenal actress.
“You know you’re absolutely stunning tonight,” Tom said to her when he finally managed to get a moment with her. She threw her arms around him grateful her best friend was there in a sea of strangers.
“Thank you for being here Tom. This is all so overwhelming,” she told him with a sniffle.
“Just don’t forget about me now that you’re married and prego,” he said with a teasing smile.
She could see the insecurity underneath the teasing though.
“I haven’t had any true friends my entire life. You’re the first one and I promise you you’ll always be the first person I call when I need a shoulder to cry on. You know that you can also call me anytime. We will always be best friends,” she said. She gave him one more hug before she was called over to cut the cake.
Lucas and her cut the cake and fed each other. They toasted their union and they shared dances with family members. Lucas was surprised a little by the intense jealousy he felt as each of his brothers pulled Amy far too close for a married woman and whisked her around the dance floor.
When she was dancing with Alex she let out a delighted laugh at something he said. Lucas walked away from his partner without a word and reclaimed his bride. His brother laughed harder and kissed Amy on the cheek before releasing her to her husband.
“What were the two of you laughing about?” he questioned her with jealousy, as he spun her around the dance floor.
“He told me if I came to my senses I could call him and he would whisk me away from his boring older brother,” she said smiling, still in delight, from his brother.
“You’re mine and only mine and the only one that will be whisking you anywhere will be me from now on,” he stated and pulled her into his arms even tighter so she would have room for only him in her mind.
He kissed her until he couldn’t stand anymore and then decided they’d spent enough time with people. It was far past time to start the honeymoon portion of the wedding.
“It’s time to go. Let’s say goodnight to my parents and run away from here,” he spoke as he took her hand and led her in the direction of his mom and dad. Amy became incredibly scared as he led her towards his parents. This was it. They were going to be alone very soon and she was terrified. She didn’t know how to act as a married woman.
She wasn’t worried about sex. They definitely had chemistry together, but she was worried about the before and after sex. Did she kiss him if she felt like it? Did she take his hand in hers? Did she tell him when the baby was kicking so they could share it? Were those things too intimate?
In a regular marriage you didn’t need to ask those kinds of questions, but this wasn’t a regular marriage and she didn’t know what was expected of her. It was terrifying.
“Mom, dad, thank you so much for the wedding. I know that I didn’t give you enough time and you made it beautiful anyway. We’re leaving now,” he said as he hugged both of his parents.
“Thank you both so much. You’re truly amazing parents. I’m very glad to be a part of your family,” Amy added shyly.
“My dear, we’re the ones grateful to have you in our lives. Now we finally have the daughter we weren’t blessed with,” Joseph said, grabbing her up in a hug and then passing her over to his wife.
“You two have a wonderful honeymoon and we’ll get together for lunch next week. Now that the wedding is over it’s time to prepare for our first grandchild,” Katherine added while hugging her.
Amy was so overcome by her amazing in-laws she didn’t know what else to say. Her child would be loved beyond compare and spoiled beyond measure. The love certainly outweighed everything else about the unusual union .
“Give us a few minutes to run upstairs and get Amy changed for your departure,” Katherine said, while taking her into the house. Lucas looked as if he wasn’t going to let her go for a minute, until Joseph laughed and then pulled him aside.
“She’ll be right back son.” Amy really loved that laughter. She quickly walked up the stairs with Katherine. She was nervous as they entered the bedroom and she saw the beautiful outfit Katherine had purchased for her.
“Amy, I know that all of this has been overwhelming for you but I want you to know that I’m very happy to have you in our lives,” Katherine told her, which brought tears to her eyes again.
She wanted a mother so badly.
“Thank you, Katherine. It’s all happened so quickly,” she replied. She didn’t want to say anything badly about Lucas but at times the man was really overwhelming.
“I know my son can be stubborn and a bit hard-headed. He’s been hurt before. When a family’s been given as much as we have, people tend to take advantage of you. Lucas has been with women before who really hurt him. He’d never admit that but a mother can see things that others can’t. You’ll learn all this soon enough,” Katherine told her gently.
“I just don’t want him to hate me for thinking I somehow trapped him,” Amy told her, feeling she could be honest.
“Oh hunny, you’ve nothing to worry about. Lucas’s growl is far worse than his bite. He’ll make a fine husband. I can already see he worships you and it gives my heart great pleasure to see the way you look at him. Don’t look at me all panicked. I’m not expecting you to blurt out your love for him but I know that you’ll both be fine,” Katherine said. She then pulled Amy close to her again and the two women stood there for several moments hugging.
“Thank you again. This all means more than you could ever know,” Amy told her as she wiped away her tears.
“You’re the one who should be thanked. I never thought my son would find a woman like you.
Now, we’d better get you back downstairs before Lucas comes hunting for you,” Katherine finished. Amy changed quickly into the beautiful blouse and skirt and then the two of them headed back downstairs.
Lucas led Amy away from the house amid shouts of goodwill and much birdseed. They made their way to the awaiting limo that was decorated with ‘just married’ across the back. As soon as they were in the backseat together, Lucas pulled her into his arms and again ravished her mouth.
She wanted him so badly; she didn’t have a single thought of pushing him away. Her breathing deepened as she tangled her hands in his thick, dark hair, to pull him closer to her. He was pressed tightly against her aching body and she still felt like she couldn’t get close enough to him. Oh, how she loved the man and now he was her husband.
Lucas was so hungry for her; there was no way he could hold out until they got to the jet, which was an hour away. He unbuttoned her blouse and stripped her bra off within seconds. Then Amy gasped as he was lavishing her breasts with his hands and lips. He was molding her aching body with a sweet lovers touch. She pressed tighter into his administering, not wanting it to ever stop.
Her nipples were peaked in desire from his touch. When his mouth clasped over one rosy tip, she threw her head back and moaned. He switched sides, giving her body the full attention it needed and wanted.
She noticed immediately how much more sensitive her body was now that she was pregnant.
He’d turned her to molten lava the only other time they’d made love, but this time she felt like she was going to sink right through the seat. She couldn’t get enough of his hands or mouth on her body.
When he released her hardened nipple and trailed his mouth down her stomach, which was just barely showing any signs of life within, she began to tremble. He stripped her skirt and scrap of underwear off in one motion and then he was trailing his lips and tongue over the sensitive skin on the insides of her thighs. She couldn’t stay still. She wanted more. She tried pulling him back up her body, but he just looked up at her with smoldering eyes and gave a slight shake to his head.
He again began caressing her legs, while his hands ran up and down her stomach, reaching over her breasts and then back down again. Suddenly he was kissing her in the most intimate way a man can kiss a woman. She jerked at the intimate contact and then all thoughts left her and she could do nothing but feel.
It took only seconds and she was falling apart, quivering as her body exploded in complete ecstasy. Before she had time to even blink, Lucas was naked and once again kissing her passionately. Her body started burning again in anticipation of their union .
He thrust his tongue inside her mouth, then spread her legs apart and suddenly he was deep within her folds. Their breathing was mingled with the sound of her groans, as her body tightened around him.
She fell apart a second time, quivering in his arms and that was all it took to send him over the edge. He pushed into her one final time and then fell against her, fully sated. Neither of them talked as their breathing slowly returned to normal.
She didn’t want to let him go. She knew once they broke apart, the awkward silence would begin. For now it was just two lovers enjoying the aftermath of what they’d just shared.
They were still lying pressed together when the driver announced they would reach their destination in about five minutes, over the car intercom.
Amy flushed scarlet, quickly scrambling to get her clothing back in place. “Where’s my bra?” she asked in a panic.
Lucas laughed aloud at the horror on her face, at the thought of getting caught naked in the back of a car with her husband.
He pulled the bra out from behind him and handed it over to her. She finished dressing in record time and then scooted away from him a bit. Lucas straightened up himself, but knew the clothes would be coming back off in a few minutes. He found it very endearing that his wife was afraid to be caught necking in the back of the car.
He’d just finished loving his wife, far too quickly and now wanted to take her again much more slowly and thoroughly. He could already feel his body hardening in anticipation of sinking into her again. He couldn’t understand how he could crave her so quickly after being totally satisfied.
They pulled up to the airport where his private jet was awaiting their arrival. Lucas led her inside while the luggage was loaded. “We’ll be taking off in about thirty minutes Mr. Anderson. Is there anything I can get for you two while we are waiting?” Some far too cute and perky blond lady asked them when they were inside.
“Yes Lana, thank you, we’ll each have dinner and I’ll take a glass of bourbon.”
“What would you like to drink, dear?” He asked Amy.
“I would love some milk please,” she simply replied, realizing for the first time she was starving.
She loved the term of endearment coming off of his lips. It made her feel like a real wife.
“Here’s your drink Mrs. Anderson. Your meal will be out in just a few moments,” the perky flight attendant said as she returned promptly.
Amy looked up at her, with a bit of shock. She’d called her Mrs. Anderson. She was Mrs.
Anderson. That hadn’t really sunk in. She’d continually thought about the power that name commanded and now she had that name. She was so out of sorts in his world that she didn’t know how she could ever possibly fit in.
“How are you feeling?” Lucas asked her.
“Really good actually,” she replied. “I forgot to eat today though, so I’m starving. I think I could consume an entire cow right now. Would it be rude for me to ask for two of the little dinners?” she asked him, somewhat embarrassed.
Lucas laughed out loud at her question. “We have a full meal prepared for us Amy. I don’t think you will have to worry about being hungry. I’m pretty famished myself. I didn’t get much chance to eat with everything that was going on.”
“Here’s your appetizer.” Amy looked down at the plate Lana had set in front of her and her mouth started to water. There were several little things on it sending up the most amazing aromas. Her stomach growled loudly enough for both Lucas and the perfect Lana to hear.
“Well you better dig in before my son starts growling some more,” Lucas said and patted her stomach.
Amy was so shocked by the intimate moment she again got tears in her eyes. She leaned over and kissed him impulsively. “Your son or daughter,” she stressed with humor, “is just fine. It’s the mommy that could consume everything in sight right now.” She grabbed her fork and moaned aloud at how good it tasted.
Lucas sat there enjoying her pleasure for a few moments before starting on his own food. “I will serve your salads after we have taken off,” Lana said and then left them to eat.
Amy finished off her food and looked over at what was remaining on Lucas’s plate longingly.
He laughed at her pathetic look and then speared a bite and fed it to her. She closed her eyes in pleasure and he forgot all about food as all the blood rushed to his groin.
What she did to him was amazing. He wanted her all the time. She took so much pleasure in everything. He was starting to see he’d formed the wrong opinion about her. There was no way a person could act this well. She didn’t get that look of ecstasy on her face when she saw the expensive items all around her. She did when she took a bite of food that melted on her tongue and definitely when he was thrusting inside of her.
“Amy can we please start this honeymoon off on the right foot. I’m sorry for the accusations I made against you. I would really like for us to just let things go and have a good trip,” he said as he took her hand in his.
It was the first time ever when he’d actually apologized and asked something of her instead of demanding it. How could she possibly resist that?
Amy’s eyes filled with tears once again and she shook her head yes. “These dang pregnancy hormones make me cry at the drop of a hat, I’m warning you now,” she said on a little laugh.
“I’m not usually so emotional.”
“I like you this way,” he whispered and kissed her a little bit longer. “We’ve been cleared for takeoff Mr. Anderson. Please fasten your seat belts and we should have a smooth flight. The wind is going in our direction so we should be touching down in Paris at nine,” said the pilot’s voice over the intercom.
“I’ve never flown on a jet before but I’ve seen the movies and I have to tell you this is much nicer than sharing a row of seats with a big sweaty guy next to you and a screaming toddler behind,” Amy said excitedly.
Lucas burst out laughing. She really was a fresh breath of air. “I would have to agree with you there.”
During the takeoff Amy’s face was glued to the window. She was fascinated by the whole procedure. She loved how the jet suddenly burst with speed. The feeling as they lifted into the air was unlike anything she’d ever experienced before.
She had no fear; she was feeling alive with adrenaline. She definitely had to add flying to her list of favorite things to do. She would have to see if her husband would fly her around to other places later. Maybe he would for their anniversary the next year.
Once they reached a certain height, Lana brought them out more food. They ate several courses including the best lobster she’d ever tasted. That definitely didn’t come from the bargain market’s frozen department. After the final course was served, she leaned back in her chair and rubbed her stomach. “You were right Lucas, I’m stuffed,” she said to him sleepily as a yawn escaped her lips.
“Let’s go take a nap. You look exhausted,” he said as he got up and helped her from her seat.
“Can I get anything else for you Mr. Anderson,” Lana asked.
“No thank you Lana. We’re going to retire for the rest of the night,” he simply replied.
They went back and lay down together on the very comfortable bed. Lucas slowly undressed his bride. He took his time showing her how much he wanted her.
Lucas spent the next hour showing her repeatedly how desirable she was. He then pulled her into his arms and she was asleep within seconds. He felt very lucky to have won his bride. They may not have started out the right way but he knew they were going be very good for each other.