Somewhere in His Arms (55 page)

             
He didn't answer but stopped a few feet away and reached, loosening his tie. He reached into his dress shirt and pulled out the chain he wore. Lucy caught a glimpse of their wedding bands and stepped closer, wondering what her husband was about. “Alec?” she whispered. “Why didn't you tell me you still had them?” She'd thought he'd gone and left them somewhere.

             
“I've been thinking, love, “ he said suddenly, “about that night.” Alec's head turned towards her, “Do you?”

             
“All the time,” she sighed and drew closer. “It all happened so fast, didn't it?”

             
“Not for me. I wanted to marry you.”

             
“Y-You did?”

             
He nodded. “The first time I saw you sitting all alone at the bar, I heard those two bastards planning what they were going to do to you, and I couldn't let them hurt you.” His hand reached out to toy with her earring. “I wanted you so bad I couldn't let you get away from me.”

             
“You didn't.” She pressed her lips against the inside of his wrist. “I wanted to marry you, too.”

             
“You did?”

             
“Uh-huh. You were so sweet.” Lucy blushed. “I--I think I was already madly in love with you.”

             
“How could you tell?”

             
“Because I wasn't afraid,” she whispered. “I've never been afraid since being with you, and I've been afraid all my life.”

             
“Lucia,” he breathed, brushing her mouth with his. “That goes both ways, love.”

             
“What are you going to do with them?” She pointed to the rings he held in his palm.

             
“I don't know,” he said thoughtfully, removing the rings from the chain. “I was thinking of melting them down into something.” He took a few steps away from her and before she could react, he reached back as far as his arm would allow and hurled the rings off the side.

             
“Alec!”
Lucy shrieked and peered through the safety fence. It was too late. They were gone. Forever. “Why did you
do
that?” she demanded angrily. “Do you know how illegal that was? They'll have us arrested!” She burst into tears and didn't know why.

             
He hadn't meant to make her cry. But he'd thought long and hard about what to do with the rings and this seemed the best way. To Alec, the rings represented something false and brittle. They way they were before they'd found each other again. The new wedding rings would represent all that they were, here and now. He went to her and thumbed her tears away. “I'm sorry, love,” he said regretfully. “But those aren't us anymore.”

             
She sniffed. “They're not?”

             
Alec kissed her brow, her eyes, her nose, and then her mouth. “I'm going to give you a new ring, remember? And you have to promise
not
to take it off!”

             
Lucy gulped back tears. Of course, he was right. But it didn't make her feel any better. It was the first thing he'd ever given her. “Only if you promise
never
to take off yours!”

             
“I promise.” He kissed her long and lovingly and held her tightly to him. Alec raised his head. “Let's go, love. We're getting married tomorrow.”

             
“Are you still sleeping by yourself?”

             
“One more night and then never again!”

             
“I want that in writing!”

             
He burst out laughing: real, joyous, happy laughter as if he hadn't a care in the world. “I'll have my solicitor draw it up!”

             
“You could at least tuck me in,” she said as they strolled to the elevator.

             
“What and risk temptation? You can suffer for one more night!”

             
“You're impossible!”

             
“I know, love,” he said softly as the doors closed. “I know.”

Chapter Thirty-one

Alec peered anxiously toward the bathroom where his wife had ensconced herself for the last thirty minutes. He busied himself by turning down the bed and fluffing the pillows, but nothing could erase the fact that he was a bundle of nerves. He suspected Lucy was as well. More than once he'd heard something crash to the floor.

             
They had made it at last to a little bed and breakfast in Westbrook, Connecticut. They'd left early the next morning after his ring tossing trick and rented a car. Alec had already applied for the marriage license so all they had to do was check in, have a light lunch, and since there was already a Justice of the Peace on the premises, the only thing that was required of them was to change. Alec had opted to wear his black suit again and as for Lucy...

             
Well, what did he know about anything? He'd been left waiting for nearly an hour as she got herself ready, and it was well worth the wait. He'd been adjusting his necktie and there she was, wearing an ivory Edwardian tea lace thingy that looked like it belonged in an antique shop. He didn't know where she'd gotten such a thing, but it was dainty and modest, like her. There'd been a pink ribbon encircling her slender waist and a cameo on a matching velvet ribbon around her throat. Pearl and diamond earrings sparkled prettily from her ears and she'd worn no makeup. She'd carried a small bouquet of pink roses and on her tiny feet were satin heels. And as for her hair… She'd gone and swept it up into a loose knot with softly curling tendrils framing her beautiful face. Alec hadn't been able to form a coherent thought, let alone breathe properly.

             
From then on, time seemed to stand still. The man performing the ceremony was an elderly gent, tall and wiry, with an air of authority. He'd made no concessions and had come right out and informed them that he was old hat at these sorts of things and he wouldn't stand for nonsense. With that being said, Alec and Lucy were properly wed in a small chapel not far from the main building. It was a sunny October day with the first fall leaves strewn about like an old tapestry beneath their feet, and when the ceremony was completed, Alec had carried his blushing bride out into the garden.

             
He glanced down at his new wedding band now and found he liked it very much. The simple titanium band had their names engraved on the inside and the date on which they were wed. When Lucy saw it, she'd wept with joy. Alec had been so nervous he'd placed hers on the wrong hand. Luckily, he'd hastened to correct that minor infraction.

             
So here they were, on another wedding night. Alec had carried his wife across the threshold much to her protestations. “You already carried me across!” she told him fretfully.

             
“Not so, love,” he'd laughed. “Three. I carried you into the cottage when you were ill. That makes three.”

             
“So make it a fourth time!” she'd relented finally. “And don't drop me!”

             
He chuckled at the memory. But it was getting late and he wanted his wife. Alec was about to knock on the bathroom door when it flew open, and his heart fell into a pit that had somehow opened beneath his feet. His wife stood before him with softly falling hair and wearing a red lace negligee that barely contained her soft curves.

             
Lucy was so nervous she'd dropped her hairbrush into the toilet. Before they'd left New York, she'd gone shopping and purchased her wedding gown and a little something to wear to bed. She'd never in her life dared to wear something so revealing, and she was terrified of how she looked in it. Lucy didn't dare look at her husband either. He hadn't said a word, and the silence was near deafening. She kept her eyes glued to the floor and suddenly wished she'd bought that blue flannel nightie that she'd had her eye on.

             
Right about now, her husband could see all the way to Russia.

             
When he finally spoke, she flinched. Surely her face must be twelve shades of red. “Lucy,” he said softly. “Look at me.”

             
Lucy shook her head.
No, she didn't want to look at him!
He wasn't standing here in some transparent lace insult to sleepwear wishing the floor would open up and end her misery. Not only was the thing drafty, she was certain she had just made a place for herself in hell for wearing such a thing. She'd only worn it for him and had no intention of wearing something like it ever again.

             
“Lucy,” he said again, his voice oddly taut and strained with emotion. He was crying.

             
She glanced up in alarm to find tears in his eyes and falling down his cheeks. “W-W-Why are...you crying?” she choked, on the verge of weeping herself. “It's too much, isn't it? I--I should have bought the blue flannel!”

             
Alec burst out laughing and stepped forward. He took her face in his hands and kissed her. “No, love,” he said shakily, “you look just right.”

             
She breathed a sigh of relief and reached up to brush his tears away. “Then why are you crying?”

             
“I don't know,” he said hoarsely, “I'm not really all here at the moment. I feel like I'm dreaming.”

             
“Does that mean you like it?” She glanced down at herself and then at him. Her husband was wearing a pair of black satin pajama pants and nothing else. The hard planes of his taut chest and belly made her ache to touch him. “You look sexy.”

             
He laughed again, a sort of hoarse croak and reached down to take her hand from where it had been hiding her breasts. “Don't hide, love,” he whispered, kissing her wedding ring. “You're so lovely.”

             
Lucy laughed a little. “You said that to me on our wedding night!”

             
“First wedding night,” he corrected gently. “I don't think that one counts. It shouldn't anyway.”

             
“It shouldn't?”

             
Alec pulled away and reached for two champagne flutes on the dresser. He handed her one. “We have to drink to this auspicious occasion, wife.”

             
She stared in awe at the gold colored liquid. “I thought we swore we'd never drink again!”

             
“Well, I think we should make an exception in this case,” he said, his blue eyes near midnight and caressing every part of her body. She swallowed hard. “What do you think, love?”

             
Lucy nodded and clinked his glass with hers. She took a fortifying gulp and seeing her husband's eyes light up with amusement, she tossed the rest down, and hoped for the best. “Now what?” she asked stupidly.

             
Alec tossed his wine down in one brave swallow and took his wife's glass and set it down beside his. Then he took her in his arms. “I think this is what's supposed to come next.” He lowered his head and kissed her.

             
Lucy sighed into his mouth, feeling warm and giddy. Surely, the wine couldn't have gone to her head that quickly? Her breath caught as his hands traveled down her back and lower to cup her bottom. He lifted her up against him and she had to wrap her arms around him just to stay upright. “You're trembling,” he sighed in wonder, pressing warm kisses to the corners of her mouth.

             
“So are you,” she whispered against his mouth. “Why is...that?” Then his mouth was spreading gentle heat down her throat. Lucy closed her eyes and then gasped as he kissed her breasts through the fragile lace. “My love,” she breathed in pleasure and cradled his head to her chest.

             
“My wife,” he rasped and caught her mouth again. She gasped in shock when he bent and swept her up into his arms. He stared into her eyes promising carnal delights and she kissed his cheek shyly and buried her face into his neck.