Exquisite Betrayal (41 page)

He flashes me one of his tummy tightening
smiles, and I want to melt right into him. His arm is extended as I
take his hand in mine, feeling its warmth send a tingle all the way
my toes.

He pulls me towards him and asks the small
group seated on the deck, “Do I have to wait until the ‘I do’s’
before I kiss this woman?”

Everyone, including me, laughs. Then he
leans in and whispers, “Much more than dangerous.”

I laugh again.

The minister says his thing as we stand
there. I don’t hear a word of what he says, though, my attention is
solely focused on the man next to me. Then it’s time for us to
exchange our vows. We agreed to write our own. I have no idea what
Ryland Thomas has written, nor does he know what mine are.

He begins by saying, “When Fallon and I
decided to write our own vows, I thought I’d have something
romantic and quite flowery prepared for her. Yet the more I thought
about it, the shallower I thought that would sound. I didn’t want
to sound like R.T. Sinclair, the writer. I do that for a living. I
wanted these vows to be just for her, and for everyone here that
came from near and far to be with us today. So, dear friends and my
gorgeous Fallon, here goes.

“
As you know, I’ve been the worst
person to be in a relationship with due to my stupidassery. Hell,
I’ve admitted it on national tele, so I know this comes as no
surprise to anyone here. But, I swear to all of you as my
witnesses, and to God above, that I will try my damnedest to be a
wiser man for this woman who is about to become my wife. I love her
with every piece of me and I will love her until the end of time.
She’s taught me what it is to be complete, to be a better human
being, to love unconditionally, to respect that love and to cherish
it with my life.”

He stops for a second and places his
palm on my cheek. “I fell for you that very first day I saw you in
the melting sun at the airport in Las Vegas. I started falling in
love with you when you woke up in my bed, hung over and lost as
hell because you’d misplaced your purse. That love grew into
something so immense that I can’t imagine being the old Ryland
Thomas anymore. So, my love,
you
are my alpha and omega, and today, you bring me home by
becoming my wife. Two lives, one heart, one love,
endlessly.”

Tears are bubbling out of my eyes, but I
know I must speak. He takes a handkerchief out of his pocket and
dabs the droplets away, being careful not to smear my make-up.

“
You remembered.”

“
I did.”

I say to the crowd, “See, he’s learning
already.” They all laugh.

“
Ryland Thomas, you’re a tough act to
follow.”

He cups my cheek and whispers, “I’m nothing
compared to you.” I put my hand over his and smile.

“
So, Ryland Thomas is right. He
was
filled with all sorts of
stupidassery, but he’s not giving himself much credit for how much
smarter he’s gotten over this past year.” More chuckles come from
the group. “He says he fell in love with me in Vegas. Well,
admittedly, I took a
little
longer than that. But what I discovered in him was a
generous, thoughtful, kind, caring and loving man with a heart that
swallowed me whole, and I haven’t been the same since.

“
No, our road wasn’t smooth, but
someone very near and dear to my heart once told me that sometimes
when you go through the rough spots, the beauty shines through, and
when it does, it’s much more appreciated. Ryland Thomas, you were
right. You also told me so many other things, but one thing
especially stands out and that is how fragile our lives are. We’ve
both lost loved ones and we understand how precious these moments
are. So I more than appreciate you. You bring me home, to where I
belong. I love you beyond words, forever, in this world and the
ever after. Two lives, one heart, one love, endlessly.”

Then the minister says the “I Do’s” part and
pronounces us husband and wife. Ryland Thomas grabs me and seals
our vows with a ground-shaking kiss. The crowd eventually starts to
clap, which lets us know we need to break it up.

When we pull away from each other, I look at
him and laugh. Hard.

“
Hand me your handkerchief.” He does
and I wipe all my lipstick off his mouth. He pulls me into him and
kisses me again. This time, just a brief one.

“
Have I told you I love you?” he
asks.

“
I think you have.”

“
Good. Because I really do, Fallon. I
fucking love the hell out of you.”

I can’t help smirking at that. “Hmm, for a
writer, you sure can come up with some pretty flowery phrases.”

“
It’s honest and straight from the
heart, love.” He kisses me again, leaving me no doubt he means it.
“Let’s get the party started,” he announces.

There a big rush to congratulate us, and
then champagne is being passed around along with platters of
appetizers. Music is piped through the sound system and things
start to crank up. Ryland Thomas’s London friends are quite a rowdy
bunch and it turns into a fun-filled bash.

The caterers keep the tables loaded with
food and there are two small bars set up, one inside and one out.
We have a car service ready to transport guests back to their hotel
whenever they want to leave, but I have a feeling that this party’s
going to last awhile.

Ryland Thomas and I dance the first song
together, alone; it’s a nice and slow one. The noise of the guests
vanishes, and it’s just the two of us, staring into each other’s
eyes. I lick my lips because he looks so good I can almost taste
him.

“
Ah, dangerous girl. You’re treading
on thin ice, you know.”

“
Uh-huh. But I can’t help it. You look
awfully tasty, Mr. Sinclair.”

He wiggles his brows up and down, giving me
a sexy grin. “Don’t go there, Mrs. Sinclair. That’ll lead to no
good.”

“
That depends on what your definition
of no good is.”

“
You’re being a might naughty, aren’t
you, considering we have more than a houseful of
guests?”

“
Are you saying you can’t handle
it?”

“
Is that a challenge?”

“
Maybe.”

He dips his head so his lips are almost
touching my ear and then says, “Fallon, I’ll always accept one of
your challenges.” His voice brushes over me and I shiver. I can
feel every nerve ending react to him, including the ones between my
thighs, and he knows it. Then he whispers, “Now, my lovely bride,
let’s act like charming hosts, but be ready because, the first
chance I get, I’m going to give you exactly what you want and
you’re going to tell me how hard and how fast.”

I quickly suck in my breath, and he kisses
me before I can do or say a thing. The song ends while we’re still
kissing.

Amanda comes up behind me. “Think you two
should just go on ahead and get a room?”

I know my face heats. I have no doubt it’s
as red as a tomato because I can feel the heat stinging my
cheeks.

Ryland Thomas smiles. “You look lovely with
the roses blooming in your cheeks.” Then he takes my hand and we
make our way around the room to chat with our guests. The night
passes. I’ve had way too much champagne and all sorts of other
things, but I don’t care. It’s a party and that’s what I’m going to
do. We finally cut the cake I’ve been salivating over, and when we
feed it to each other, Ryland Thomas tells me I look
disappointed.

“
I am. I expected it to be all kinds
of good, but my anticipation over what awaits me later has spoiled
it.”

“
Tell you what. We’ll take a pile of
that stuff to our room and eat it later and then we can have it for
breakfast, too.”

“
Yes!” Everyone looks at me as I
shout, making Ryland Thomas just laugh.

We finally leave the party at one in the
morning and climb the steps to our room. There are some guests
still hanging around, but the caterers are there until the last one
leaves. They will clean up and the guests have transportation, so
we don’t have a care in the world. Tilly is staying in the hotel
with the other guests.

We’re leaving for a two-week honeymoon to
the Greek Islands on the day after tomorrow. That was another good
call by Ryland Thomas, making it so that we don’t have to get up
early for a flight in the morning.

I have a feeling this will be a night
without sleep by the look in his eyes. I don’t mind. I’ve waited
long enough for this day, and the reception nearly killed me. I
wanted to steal away and come up here all night long, yet he
wouldn’t dare. He tortured me constantly, so I’m going to pay him
back now.

“
You better take that dress off. Tell
me how to take it off, or I’m going to tear it off you in two
seconds.”

“
Buttons. All the way down the back,”
I gasp.

He starts undoing the first of twenty five.
“Holy crap, Fallon. Could you have chosen one with any more
buttons?”

“
I wasn’t exactly thinking about this
when I bought the dress.”

“
Bloody hell, I’m just gonna tear it
off you.”

“
Don’t you dare! I’m saving this dress
for your daughter.”

“
I don’t have a daughter.”

“
You might someday. Now calm down and
take your time.”

“
They’re stuck, and so fucking tiny my
fingers can’t even grab the little fuckers.”

I start to giggle. “Ryland Thomas, don’t
tear any of the loops.”

“
Oh, for fuck’s sake. Lift the damn
dress already.”

“
What?”

“
Pick up the bloody dress.”

I do as he asks and he tears off my panties.
Rips them to shreds. His fingers find me and I’m crying out for
more. He unzips, picks me up, slides in and we’re riding the tide
of wedded bliss. It doesn’t take us long to reach that place we
seek, and after we’re through, we look at each other and start
laughing our butts off. His shirt is unbuttoned and hanging off and
his hair is all kinds of messy. He’s still wearing his pants and he
looks sexy as sin. My dress is bunched up around my waist and he’s
pulled my hair out of its chignon, well, half of it anyway.

“
Damn, you’d think we were two
teenagers.”

“
Buttons. Don’t ever buy anything ever
again with those bloody buttons on it. I’ll tear the fuckers off
ya. I swear I will.”

“
Right. So now that you’re a bit more
calm, would you mind unbuttoning me?”

“
Mrs. Sinclair, I’ll do anything in
the world for you.”

“
Good, because what I really want is
to get this dress off and to climb into bed so you can feed me our
wedding cake.”

“
Brilliant idea.”

This time he succeeds in getting the tiny,
silk covered buttons undone. We lie in bed as he feeds me cake and
I think about how grand life is with Ryland Thomas by my side.

I wake up with the sun’s rays casting the
room in an amber glow. I feel all warm and fuzzy as I stretch my
arms. A hand wraps around my wrist and a voice roughened by sleep
asks, “And how did Mrs. Sinclair sleep last night?”

“
Oh, she slept just dandy. And did Mr.
Sinclair?”

“
Never better. You know, it’s full
circle, isn’t it?” he asks.

“
What do you mean?”

“
Two years ago, we met in Vegas, and
here we are, back again. The Bellagio, but in much better
circumstances, wouldn’t you say?”

“
Most definitely. And quite a circle
it was.”

“
So, love, are you ready for
today?”

“
I am. But Ryland Thomas, what do you
think their reaction will be?”

“
They’re gonna love you.”

“
I wasn’t talking about me. I was
talking about you.”

He looks thoughtful for a moment and then he
says, “I don’t know. We have a fifty-fifty chance of getting
heckled, I suppose.”

“
You don’t really think…”

“
Hell no. I was just kidding. The
response was overwhelming. You know what my agent, Sam, said. They
want us. Bad. They’re bloody dying for the Q and A.”

“
I’m a little nervous for
that.”

He grabs my chin, forcing me to look at him.
“I’ve got you. I’ve got this. I won’t let anything or anyone make
this difficult for you. We clear?”

I nod then wrap my arms around him. “I think
we need to shower.”

An hour later, we head to the convention
because we’re set to go on at nine in the morning. We’re the
keynote speakers at the opening session for the day. Not only that,
they’ve allotted us two hours, one more than the usual.

They’ve told us to arrive at a rear entrance
due to the media coverage. Apparently, we’ve become quite the talk
of the town, and they’re expecting all the major networks to be
covering this talk. I don’t know why I’m not hyperventilating. I
guess it’s because my husband is holding onto my hand and keeping
me tethered, acting as my lifeline, as usual.

We stand back stage, hand in hand, waiting
for the MC to announce us and when she does, the room explodes. My
heart pounds as I break into a huge grin. Ryland Thomas looks at me
and grins back. “I guess we’re on the good side of that
fifty-fifty, love. Let’s do this.”