A Beautiful Wedding (8 page)

He paused once, only to whisper my name against my wet skin, and I faltered, closing my eyes and feeling as if they were rolling to the back of my head in pure ecstasy. I moaned, making his
kisses more eager, and then he tensed, lifting my body closer to his mouth.

Every passing second became more intense, a brick wall between wanting to let go and needing to stay in that moment. Finally, when I couldn’t wait any longer, I reached up and buried
Travis’s face into me. I cried out, feeling him smiling, overcome by the intense jolts of electricity bolting throughout my body.

With all of Travis’s distractions, I didn’t realize we were at the Bellagio until I heard the driver’s voice over the speaker. “I’m sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Maddox, but
we’ve arrived at your hotel. Would you like me to take another drive down the Strip?”

“N
o, just give us a minute,” I said.

Abby was half-lying, half sitting on the black leather seat of the limo, her cheeks flushed, breathing hard. I kissed her ankle, and then pulled her panties off the toe of her high heel, handing
them to her.

God damn, she was a beautiful sight. I couldn’t take my eyes off of her while I buttoned up my shirt. Abby flashed me a huge grin while she shimmied her panties back over her hips. The
limo driver knocked on the door. Abby nodded and I gave him the green light to open it. I handed him a large bill, and then lifted my wife into my arms. We made it through the lobby and then the
casino in just a few minutes. You might say I was a little motivated to get back to the room—luckily having Abby in my arms provided cover for my bulging dick.

She ignored the dozens of people staring at us while we entered the elevator, and then planted her mouth on mine. The floor number was muffled when I tried to say it to the amused couple closest
to the buttons, but I saw out of the corner of my eye that they’d pushed the right one.

As soon as we stepped into the hall, my heart began to pound. When we reached the door, I struggled with keeping Abby in my arms and getting the keycard out of my pocket.

“I’ll get it, baby,” she said, pulling it out and then kissing me while she unlocked the door.

“Thank you, Mrs. Maddox.”

Abby smiled against my mouth. “My pleasure.”

I carried her into the room and lowered her down to stand at the foot of the bed. Abby watched me for a moment while she kicked off her heels. “Let’s get this out of the way, Mrs.
Maddox. This is one article of clothing of yours that I don’t want to ruin.”

I turned her around and then slowly unzipped her dress, kissing each piece of skin as it was exposed. Every inch of Abby was already ingrained in my mind, but touching and tasting the skin of
the woman that was now my wife made it new all over again. I felt an excitement I’d never felt before.

The dress fell to the floor, and I picked it up, tossing it over the back of a chair. Abby unsnapped the back of her bra, letting it fall to the floor, and I tucked my thumbs between her skin
and the lacey fabric of her panties. I grinned. I’d already had them off once.

I leaned down to kiss the skin behind her ear. “I love you so much,” I whispered, slowly pushing her panties down her thighs. They fell to her ankles, and she kicked them away with
her bare feet. I wrapped my arms around her, taking a deep breath in through my nose, pulling her bare back against my chest. I needed to be inside her, my dick was practically reaching out for
her, but it was important to take our time. We only got one shot at a wedding night, and I wanted it to be perfect.

Abby

Goose bumps formed all over my body. Four months earlier, Travis had taken something from me I’d never given to any other man. I was so hell-bent on giving it to him, I
didn’t have time to be nervous. Now, on our wedding night, knowing what to expect and knowing how much he loved me, I was more nervous than I had been that first night.

“Let’s get this out of the way, Mrs. Maddox. This is one article of clothing of yours that I don’t want to ruin,” he said.

I breathed out a small laugh, remembering my buttoned-up, pink cardigan, and the pattern of blood spatters down the middle of it. Then I thought about seeing Travis in the cafeteria the first
time.

“
I ruin a lot of sweaters,
” he’d said with his killer smile and dimples. The same smile I wanted to hate; the same lips that were making their way down my back right
now.

Travis moved me forward, and I crawled onto the bed, looking behind me, waiting, hoping he would climb on. He was watching me, pulling off his shirt, kicking off his shoes, and dropping his
slacks to the floor. He shook his head, turned me onto my back, and then settled on top of me.

“No?” I asked.

“I’d rather look into my wife’s eyes than be creative . . . at least for tonight.”

He brushed a loose hair from my face, and then kissed my nose. It was a little amusing watching Travis take his time, pondering how and what he wanted to do to me. Once we were naked and settled
under the sheets, he took a deep breath.

“Mrs. Maddox?”

I smiled. “Yes?”

“Nothing. I just wanted to call you that.”

“Good. I kind of like it.”

Travis’s eyes scanned my face. “Do you?”

“Is that a real question? Because it’s kind of hard to show it more than taking vows to be with you forever.”

Travis paused, confliction darkening his expression. “I saw you,” he said, his voice barely a whisper. “In the casino.”

My memory instantly went into rewind, already sure he had crossed paths with Jesse, and he’d possibly seen a woman with him who resembled me. Jealous eyes play tricks on people. Just when
I was ready to argue that I hadn’t seen my ex, Travis began again.

“On the floor. I saw you, Pidge.”

My stomach sank. He’d seen me crying. How would I possibly explain that away? I couldn’t. The only way was to create a diversion.

I pushed my head back into the pillow, looking straight into the eyes. “Why do you call me Pigeon? I mean
really
?”

My question seemed to take him off guard. I waited, hoping he would forget all about the previous topic. I didn’t want to lie to his face, or admit what I’d done. Not tonight. Not
ever.

His choice to allow me to change the subject was clear in his eyes. He knew what I was doing, and he was going to let me do it. “You know what a pigeon is?”

I shook my head in a tiny movement.

“It’s a dove. They’re really fucking smart. They’re loyal, and they mate for life. That first time I saw you, in the Circle, I knew what you were. Under the buttoned-up
cardigan and the blood, you weren’t going to fall for my shit. You were going to make me earn it. You would require a reason to trust me. I saw it in your eyes, and I couldn’t shake it
until I saw you that day in the cafeteria. Even though I tried to ignore it, I knew it even then. Every fuckup, every bad choice, were bread crumbs, so that we found our way to each other. So that
we found our way to this moment.”

My breath faltered. “I am so in love with you.”

His body was lying between my open legs, and I could feel him against my thighs, only a couple of inches from where I wanted him to be.

“You’re my wife.” When he said the words, a peace filled his eyes. It reminded me of the night he won the bet for me to stay at his apartment.

“Yes. You’re stuck with me, now.”

He kissed my chin. “Finally.”

He took his time as he gently slid inside of me, closing his eyes for only a second before gazing into mine again. He rocked against me slowly, rhythmically, kissing my mouth intermittently.
Even though Travis had always been careful and gentle with me, the first few moments were a little uncomfortable. He must have known that I was new to this, even though I’d never mentioned
it. The whole campus knew about Travis’s conquests, but my experiences with him were never the wild romps everyone talked about. Travis was always soft and tender with me; patient. Tonight
was no exception. Maybe even more so.

Once I relaxed, and moved back against him, Travis reached down. He hooked his hand behind my knee and pulled up gently, stopping at his hip. He slid into me again, this time deeper. I sighed,
and lifted my hip to him. There were much worse things in life than promising to feel Travis Maddox’s naked body against and inside of mine for the rest of my life. Much, much worse.

He kissed me, and tasted me, and hummed against my mouth. Rocking against me, craving me, pulling at my skin as he lifted my other leg and pushed my knees against my chest so he could press
himself into me even deeper. I moaned and shifted, unable to keep quiet while he positioned himself so he was entering me at different angles, working his hips until my nails were digging into the
skin of his back. My fingertips were buried deep into his sweaty skin, but I could still feel his muscles bulging and sliding beneath them.

Travis’s thighs were rubbing and bumping against my backside. He held himself up on one elbow, and then sat up, pulling my legs with him until my ankles were resting on his shoulders. He
made love to me harder, then, and even though it was a little painful, that pain shot sparks of adrenaline all over my body. It took every bit of pleasure I was already feeling to a new level.

“Oh, God . . . Travis,” I said, breathing his name. I needed to say something, anything to let go of the intensity building up inside me.

My words made his body tense, and the rhythm of his movements became faster, more rigid, until beads of sweat formed on our skin, making it easier to slide against each other.

He let my legs fall back to the bed as he positioned himself directly over me again. He shook his head. “You feel so good,” he moaned. “I wanna make this last all night, but I
. . .”

I touched my lips to his ear. “I want you to come,” I said, ending the simple sentence with a soft, small kiss.

I relaxed my hips, letting my knees fall even farther apart and closer to the bed. Travis pressed deep inside me, over and over, his movements building as he groaned. I gripped my knee, pulling
it toward my chest. The pain felt so good it was addictive, and I felt it build until my whole body tensed in short but strong bursts. I moaned loudly, not caring who might hear.

Travis groaned in reaction. Finally, his movements slowed, but they were stronger, until he finally called out. “Oh, fuck! Damn!
Agh
!” he yelled. His body twitched and
trembled as he pressed his forehead hard against my cheek.

Both out of breath, we didn’t speak. Travis kept his cheek against mine, twitching one more time before burying his face in the pillow under my head.

I kissed his neck, tasting the salt on his skin.

“You were right,” I said.

Travis pulled back to look at me, curious.

“You were my last first kiss.”

He smiled, pressed his lips against me hard, and then buried his face against my neck. He was breathing heavily but still managed to sweetly whisper, “I fucking love you,
Pigeon.”

A
buzzing pulled me out of a deep sleep. The curtains kept out all but the slivers of sun bordering them. The blanket and sheets were hanging
halfway off our king-size bed. My dress had fallen off the chair onto the floor, joining Travis’s suit that was scattered all over the room, and I could only see one of my high heels.

My naked body was tangled with Travis’s, after the third time we consummated our marriage we passed out from sheer exhaustion.

Again with the buzzing. It was my phone on the nightstand. I reached over Travis and flipped it over, seeing Trent’s name.

That was all he said. I felt sick as I deleted the messages, worried that maybe Trent didn’t offer more because the police were at Jim’s now, maybe even telling their dad that Travis
might be involved. I glanced at the time on my phone. It was ten o’clock.

John Savage was one less person to investigate. One more death for Travis to feel guilty about. I tried to remember if I’d seen John after the fire broke out. He was knocked out. Maybe
he’d never gotten up. I thought of those frightened girls Trent and I saw in the hall of the basement. I thought about Hilary Short, who I knew from calc class, and was smiling as she stood
next to her new boyfriend near the opposite wall of Keaton Hall five minutes before the fire. How long the list of the dead really was and who was on it was something I’d tried
not
to think about.

Maybe we should all be punished. The truth was, we were all responsible, because we were all irresponsible. There is a reason why fire marshals clear these kinds of events and safety precautions
are taken. We ignored all of that. Turning on a radio or the television without seeing the images on the news was impossible, so Travis and I avoided them when possible. But all this media
attention meant investigators would be all the more motivated to find someone to blame. I wondered if their hunt would stop with Adam, or if they were out for blood. If I were a parent of one of
those dead students, I might be.

I didn’t want to see Travis go to jail for everyone’s irresponsible behavior, and right or wrong, that wouldn’t bring anyone back. I had done everything I could think of to
keep him out of trouble, and I would deny his presence in Keaton Hall that night to my dying breath.

People had done worse for those they loved.

“Travis,” I said, nudging him. He was facedown with his head buried under a pillow.

Uggggghhhhh,
he groaned. “You want me to make breakfast? You want eggs?”

“It’s just after ten.”

“Still qualifies as brunch.” When I didn’t respond, he offered again. “Okay, an egg sandwich?”

I paused, and then looked over at him with a smile. “Baby?”

“Yeah?”