500 Days (70 page)

I closed my eyes and swallowed back the
bile. “Casper, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I never told you before, but I
was scared. Scared if once I finally gave you my heart there was no
way I could survive if something happened. You’re the only one I
want, Casper, and if I’m not too late I officially give you me. All
of me. My whole heart, body and soul. It’s all yours, it always had
been. I love you and if you still love me, I’ll be right here,
waiting for you.” I turned off the megaphone and handed it back to
the cop and waited.

All eyes were on me as the fate of my
relationship hung in the balance. I was beginning to get sick
again. Thinking I was too late. That maybe I missed him. I was
about to ask the marine to put me down when I heard my name faintly
in the distance. My head shot up and there it was again. “Alex!” I
searched the crowd but I couldn’t pick out one person from the next
in this mess.

Then I saw a hand shoot up and a split in
the masses. “There, he’s over there!” I cried, pointing.
“Casper!”

“
Alex!” He was so close
but still out of reach.

“
Down, I need to get
down.” The marine put me down, but kept a protective arm around me
and in front of me as he helped me clear a path. “Casper!” I
shouted, jumping in the air. I could see him working his way
through the crowd trying his hardest to get to me. When he finally
broke free to the surface I took off, diving in to his arms. He
lifted me off the ground slamming his lips into mine. The people
around us cheered, making me blush.

“
I love you,
Casper.”

He tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. “I
always loved you, Alex. From the very beginning, it was always you.
I never wanted anyone else.”

I ran my hand across his flushed cheek. “I
just confessed my love for you in front of thousands of people, on
loud speaker. You owe me,” I teased.

He put me down steadily on my feet.
“Actually,” he gestured behind him. “Millions.” I turned around to
find our faces plastered on a big-screen TV in the middle of Times
Square.

“
Oh God,” I groaned,
burying my head on his chest. “This is like something out of those
stupid cheesy romance novels Declan reads. She is going to eat all
this up.”

He pulled my chin up to look at him. “In
these books, does the guy get the girl of his dreams?”

“
Always,” I smiled,
reaching up on my tip toes, pulling him closer by the lapels on his
jacket.

He paused just inches from my lips. “You
sure you want to do this with all these people watching?” I sunk
back down, to spy strangers watching us with goofy grins and
twinkling eyes, the rest of the crowd was busy counting down the
seconds until midnight.

I turned back to Casper who never looked so
happy in his life. “Let’s make’em wish they are half as lucky as
us.” I gave him a sexy smile.

He slipped his arms around my waist and
dipped me back, surprising me. I swung my arms around his neck.
“Might as well put on a show,” he smiled wickedly. I yanked his
lips to mine just as the clock struck midnight. The crowd around us
exploded. Fireworks filled the clear night sky, decorating it with
a whirl of colors. My chest swelled with warmth despite the cold
air. There was nothing but Casper and I. The world around me
disappeared and the only thing I felt was the full force of his
love.

“
Alex!” I heard a familiar
voice shout.

Casper pulled back, placing his forehead to
mine. “It’s just you and me now.”

“
Always and forever,” I
whispered. He kissed me sweetly before setting me
straight.

“
Alex!” I heard again and
turned to see Declan and Colton rushing up to us. I reached out an
arm and tugged her closer to me. “Oh thank god you found him. I was
so worried you weren’t going to make it in time or we would never
find you in all this chaos.” I hugged her tight.

“
Thank you for being you,”
I said.

“
Happy New Year,” Colton
said, hugging us both before he gave Casper a fist pump. Casper
pushed him playfully before pulling him in for a hug.

“
Okay, I hate to break up
this beautiful reunion, but I’m freakin’ freezing,” Declan
whined.

Casper pulled me into him, almost as if he
was afraid to let go. “C’mon, let’s get inside.”

“
Wait,” I said. I quickly
snuck out from underneath Casper’s grip and pushed my way back to
the couple who helped me out. They both smiled when they saw me,
hugging each other close. I didn’t hesitate throwing my arms around
both of them. “Thank you. I don’t know why you helped me, but thank
you.”

The woman laughed and pulled back. She
touched my face delicately. “Love is the best thing anyone can
share. I know. I almost made the same mistake,” she said, smiling
up at her husband.

“
You’re a lucky man,” her
husband said, looking over my shoulder. I spun around to see Casper
behind me.

“
Yes, I am,” he smiled
lovingly down at me.

To my right I spotted the group of marines.
The one who ordered the others to surround me was talking to a few
young ladies, no doubt from his romantic tactics. I held up my
finger to Casper and walked over to them. I tugged on his arm and
lifted on my toes to give him a kiss on the cheek. I heard Casper
clear his throat from behind me. The look on his face said he
wasn’t happy. I rolled my eyes and ignored him. “Thank you,” I told
the marine. “And don’t give your sisters too much shit. With a
brother like you I’m sure they’ll grow up to be pretty great and I
can already tell you, even if they don’t say it. They’re proud of
you.”

He smiled, kissing my hand. “It was an honor
to meet you.” He peered over my shoulder at Casper who was waiting
and getting more and more agitated by the minute. “This is the
guy?” he raised a brow at me, again reminding me of Jack.

“
Looks can be deceiving,”
I winked.

“
I’ll take your word for
it. Good luck.”

“
I don’t need luck,” I
smiled, gripping Jack’s tags. I walked back over to Casper who
furrowed his brows at me. “Oh stop it. If it wasn’t for him I never
would have found you in time.”

“
You really think I would
have put a time limit on my love for you?”

“
But in your letter you
said I had to –”

He shook his head from side to side. “I knew
the only way to get you to admit you loved me was to tell you that
you had a time limit, but Alex, I would have waited forever for
you.”

I smiled, wrapping my arms around his neck.
“Let’s go home.” His soft lips met mine. Parting my lips I welcomed
his tongue to play. He groaned slightly, his hands roaming down my
side and to my hips, pulling me tight against him.

“
You know, I do have a
penthouse suite that is a little closer, unless you can wait….,” he
said, slipping a hand down to my behind, making my insides
quake.

“
With a Jacuzzi
tub?”

“
It’s the penthouse, what
do you think?”

“
Let’s go,” I said,
practically pulling his arm out of his socket.

Chapter 28

Casper

The ride back to the hotel felt like an
eternity. All I wanted to do was tear all her clothes off and have
my way with her. I knew it took a lot for Alex to admit she loved
me and for the fact that she did in front of millions of people,
took courage. I was going to prove to her, as promised, just how
much I loved her. I would show her how much she meant to me and
every day I will tell her I love her. She was my everything and I
would be damned if I ever let her get away from me again.

All I wanted to do was get her naked and
caress every inch of her skin. I held her tightly against my body,
needing just to have her in my arms. She had her hand on my knee,
stroking my inner thigh driving me crazy. Did she know what she did
to me? The devilish smile on her face told me she did. I pressed a
kiss just below her ear, her lips opening in a small O. “You are in
for a world of hurt when I get you back to that room,” I whispered
in her ear. I felt her shake next to me as she gripped my knee
tightly.

Her dark green eyes were glowing bright in
the dim light of the car. She turned her head and lowered her voice
so only I could hear her. “What exactly are you going to do to
me?”

“
First, I’m going to
undress you. Then I’m going to kiss and touch every inch of your
silky, white skin.” I slipped a hand under the hem of her skirt.
Her leg bounced slightly from my touch.

“
Then what?” she asked,
her voice shaky.

I slipped my other hand behind her neck,
tangling my fingers in her hair and brushing my lips across hers.
“Then I’m going to make love to you all.” Kiss. “Night.” Kiss.
“Long.” Kiss. “I’m going to make you scream my name until your
throat is hoarse and just when you think I’m done, I’m going to do
it all over again.” Her entire body was trembling with
anticipation.

“
You know we can hear
you,” Declan groaned. Alex pulled back blushing. We had arrived at
the hotel but were too busy with each other to even notice. I
pulled Alex out of the car and threw my credit card at
Colton.

“
Have a night on me,” I
told them, tucking Alex close to my side.

“
I’ll take that,” Declan
said, letting out a small squeal. I was too enamored by Alex to
even care. I walked her straight back to the elevators and waited
for the bellhop to press the button for our floor.

The elevator opened right up to the
penthouse suite. Alex stepped out in awe, completely ignoring me.
The room was massive with a full size kitchen, living room, mini
bar and entertainment center. “You like?” I asked.

“
Like? More like love.
This entire place is bigger than my apartment.” She held her arms
out and did a little twirl. “Can we live here?”

I chuckled. “We can do whatever you want.”
Seeing her so happy made my heart beat a little faster. I loved her
smile. It was just so natural, never forced. Everything about her
was so beautiful and she was mine, finally mine to hold
forever.

It only took three strides for me to reach
her. I nuzzled my chin on her shoulder and pulled her closer by
crossing my arms over her stomach. This was my favorite place to
be. I got to feel her at the same time as smelling her and touching
her soft hair and skin. She tilted her head inviting me to taste. I
started to kiss her neck, slowly, while lingering with each tender
kiss. Her lips parted slightly and I knew she was trying to hold in
a moan. Little did she know, all that did was egg me on more;
wanting to push her over the edge until she fell apart beneath
me.

Spreading my fingers wide, I moved them up
her sides, stopping just below her breasts. God, how I missed her
amazing breasts. I wanted nothing more than to tear her clothes
off, but I wanted to take my time reintroducing myself to her body.
We had all the time in the world and I was going to spend every
minute just admiring her. What she didn’t realize was this was just
as much torture for me. But I would suffer, give up my needs just
to please her.

Darting out my tongue, I licked behind her
ear, nibbling lightly on the bottom of her earlobe. She thrust her
behind into me, forcing out a grunt. I don’t have to see her face
to know she’s smiling. I grabbed her hips, pressing my erection
into her backside. She let out a small gasp and then giggled as her
hands maneuvered around to my ass, squeezing each cheek in her
small palm while she rubbed herself over my package, testing my
will power. “Did you miss me?” she asked, her voice raspy.

“
You have no idea.” I
shoved myself into her. She stumbled slightly, letting out a small
cry. I smiled satisfied, loving I had that effect on
her.

She brought my hands up to her breasts and
pressed hard, curving my fingers around her large mounds. “Then
stop torturing us both.” I gave her one more hard squeeze before I
spun her around smashed my lips to hers, tasting, licking,
devouring every inch of her tongue and mouth. I released her only
long enough so I could bend down, pick her up and throw her over my
shoulder. I smacked her ass, hard, as I carried her back to the
bedroom. She laughed which was music to my ears.

I threw her down on the king size bed. She
beckoned me with her finger. I took off my coat, tossing it to the
floor. She pulled me down to the bed by my tie and hooked a leg
around my hip, making my pulse race. I fumbled with her belt as she
undid my tie. Next, she ripped my shirt open, buttons flying
everywhere. She raked her fingernails down my chest making my whole
body breakout in a hot sweat. Pressing myself on top of her, I
grinded against her, making her moan in my mouth. Her cold hands
snaked their way down the front of my pants, caressing my package
and making my dick so hard I thought it would rip right out of the
seam of my pants.

I bit her bottom lip, tugging slightly as I
pulled away so I could take off my shirt and pants. I hopped on one
foot to the next trying to get my pants off. The way she was
looking at me and licking her lips felt like she was fucking me
with her eyes. Next to go were her boots. “That dress needs to go.
Now.” She sat up and pulled it over her head in one quick swoop. I
took a second to just look at her. She was the epitome of all
things sexy. Undressing her was like opening up a present you’ve
been wanting for a very long time. Underneath all that gift wrap
was delicate soft tissue encased in the most intoxicatingly
beautiful silks. She looked like a Victoria Secrets model in her
see-through black lace bra with matching underwear and garter belt
to hold up her sheer black stockings. No, she looked better than
one of those under-fed models. One of the things I loved most about
Alex was that she wasn’t a paper thin waif who looked like she was
starving for a cookie. She had curves like real women should.
Curves I could spend hours exploring.