Authors: Jamie Begley
“I can make a list of her friends if you want.”
“That would be a help. This time, I’ll keep it in my files. It will save time. I’ll be there in a minute.”
“I’ll be waiting.” Willa disconnected the call, seeing Douglas’s frustrated expression. “I need to take care of something for Knox. Can this wait until after he leaves?”
“That’s okay. I can stop by another day. I’ll go ahead and buy the materials, and you can reimburse me.”
“I appreciate it.”
Douglas left before she could offer him coffee again. Shrugging, Willa sat at the table, making out the list of names Knox wanted. It didn’t take long since Sissy only had a handful of friends.
After Knox left, Willa took a shower, making sure she didn’t get her hair wet. She took time pampering herself. She even lit her favorite scented candles and placed her waterproof speaker in the shower so she could listen to the music. She was listening to “Jar of Hearts,” her face turned up to the spray of water after giving up on keeping her hair dry, when she saw movement at the door.
A startled scream was caught in her throat when she recognized it was Lucky standing in the doorway. Her eyes widened, and she covered her breasts with her arms.
“Did you forget we’re having dinner tonight?”
“I’ll be right out,” Willa managed to croak out.
She stepped back against the shower stall when Lucky strode forward, sliding the glass door open.
“Why have you been crying?”
“Lucky! I’m naked!”
His eyes darkened. “I can see that. Why have you been crying?”
Willa turned her face away from him.
“Because of Lisa?”
Willa nodded her head, but Lucky wouldn’t let her escape his eyes.
“Don’t you dare let that bitch upset you. Your body is a gift from God.” His eyes focused on her breasts, and her nipples peaked as if he was actually touching them.
Lucky unbuttoned his shirt, and then she licked the water away from her lip as he took off his pants and shoes, stepping into the shower with her. Willa’s eyes feasted on the sight of his body. It was a thing of muscular beauty, gleaming a golden hue as the water created rivulets while it fell.
Her eyes and fingertips investigated each tattoo from the top of his chest, reading ‘
Only God Can Judge Me,
’ to the inked guardian angel and cross that led down to his cock where two roses weaved through the cross. His tattoos were fascinating and revealing, used to express his faith. She had to blink the water out of her eyes to see the ones on his cock. Even his feet had tattoos, and Willa couldn’t imagine the hours he had been under a needle to cover his body.
Lucky’s hand took hers, laying it on his cock and showing her how to glide her hand along its length.
“Do you know what I do every time I see you?”
“No.” Willa gripped him harder.
He moved his hand to her breasts. “I thank God I’m a man.” He began teasing her nipples with swipes of his tongue as her thumb slid over the crown of his cock. “I think about what our wedding night is going to be like: how I’m going to sink my dick into that tight pussy; how you’re going to walk the next day, remembering me inside of you because I’m going to fuck you so hard you’ll hurt.” Lucky bit down on the tip of a nipple, releasing it after a brief second before lifting her other breast to his mouth.
As he sucked the nipple into his mouth again, she released cries of need, wanting to please him and wipe the memory of every woman from his mind.
“I think about how soft your skin is, how you’re sweeter than those cupcakes you make, and how you can’t stand to hurt anyone’s feelings, even at the cost of your own. You’re beautiful soul shines from your eyes and makes me hard as a rock.”
His hand covering hers tightened until Willa was afraid she was hurting him. Then she saw that he was shuddering while his other hand braced him against the wall of the shower, and then he came in her hand.
Afterward, Willa self-consciously dried off in front of Lucky who refused to leave and give her privacy.
“You might as well get used to me seeing you naked.”
“I won’t ever get used to that.” Willa turned to leave then spun around in shock when she felt the snap of a towel on her buttock. She glanced back over her shoulder to see him smiling at her innocently.
She giggled. She hadn’t seen this playful side of Lucky, and it made her fall in love with him even more.
“Be careful. Those expensive shoes of yours are getting wet.”
When he turned to use his foot to scoot the shoes onto the bathroom rug, Willa returned the small bite of pain to his own butt. Lucky’s shocked gaze turned back to her.
“Stop!” Willa giggled. Once she saw he was going to get retribution, she immediately sobered. “I’m sorry.”
“You don’t seem very sorry.” Lucky shook his head, still advancing on her.
“I am.” Instead of trying to run away, Willa ran into his arms, kissing his cheek and lips. “I’m sorry.”
Lucky’s hand went to her hair, tugging until she stared up at him. “I love you, siren.”
“I love you, Lucky.”
Chapter 23
“You look beautiful,” Beth told Willa as she straightened the veil down her back.
Willa felt beautiful when she stared at herself in the full-length mirror in Lucky’s guest bedroom.
“Thank you both for being my bridesmaids.”
Willa gave each of them a small jewelry box, and Lily and Beth both opened them to find exquisite pearl bracelets that Willa had chosen because the meaning behind them touched her soul.
It was said that they were made from angels passing through the clouds in Heaven. They meant love, and Willa wanted Beth and Lily to know how much they meant to her.
“I wanted to thank you for my dress.” Willa straightened her shoulders, staring at the women who had tried to be her friends over the years. “Both of my parents are dead. I was an only child, I used to beg my mother for a sister or brother. I accepted the dress because, if I had a sister, I would buy her one. I’m not explaining it right.” Willa tried to make another attempt, but Lily caught her hand.
“That’s why we bought it, because we felt like your sisters, too.”
Beth nodded at her sister’s words, and then they hugged each other. Lily was the first to break away.
“It’s almost time.” Lily handed Willa her red rose bouquet, pushing her toward the door.
“We have fifteen more minutes before I have to be downstairs.” Willa tried to pull back.
“I told Lucky that I would bring you to the side door.”
“It’s bad luck to see the groom before the ceremony,” Willa protested.
“He’ll be careful. Come on. We’re losing time,” Lily encouraged.
Beth picked up the bottom of her dress and veil as she followed Lily’s pale rose figure down the steps. She opened the side door that was an extra exit from the entry of the church.
“Stand here.” Lily positioned her next to it, facing sideways.
After Lily opened the other door and held out Willa’s hand, Lucky’s hand grasped hers from the other side. It was the most romantic touch Willa could have ever dreamed of. She could see no part of his body, only feel the loving clasp of his hand from the other side of the door.
“Will you pray with me, Willa?”
“Yes.” Tears clogged her throat as she lowered her head.
“Dear Father, thank You for this beautiful day, fulfilling Willa’s and my desire to join our two souls together with Your holy blessing. Hand in hand, we come before You, giving our hearts to You, and in return, we trust our faith to guide us through the journey You have set forth for us.
“Make our marriage as flexible as this cord I wrap around our wrists so that our love will continue to grow through the years. Make our marriage as strong as the diamond I placed on her hand. I promise to give Willa a smile for every smile, a kiss for every kiss, to hurt every time she hurts until our bond is as unbreakable as our devotion to You. Amen.”
Willa almost went around the door to Lucky. Placing her free hand on the door, she felt his love coming through as though she could actually touch him.
“Amen,” she whispered back.
“I love you, Willa. I’ve never felt luckier than I do at this moment.”
Her hand tightened in his. “This isn’t luck; this is a blessing from God. When He created you, He created a man who serves Him, a man who brings joy to my heart and a love that I will always cherish. Today, I give to you all that I am: body, heart, and soul.”
In the background, they heard the cellist begin to play.
“You have to go. The ceremony is beginning.”
“I’ll be waiting.” Lucky released her hand.
She heard him walking away to the side of the church that would put him at the front of the podium.
Willa turned back to Lily and Beth who were standing by the door that led into the chapel. Both were wearing their pearl bracelets as she was wearing the same one around her own wrist.
The saleswoman who had “helped” her and Lucky previously at the jewelry store had glowered at her angrily when she had asked for someone else to wait on her. Willa didn’t feel guilty giving the commission to someone else for the expensive bracelets while the saleswoman had stood, watching enviously.
“Are you ready?” Beth asked with tears of happiness that were mirrored in Willa’s own eyes.
“I’m ready.” Willa smoothed down her dress for the final time.
“Pastor Sparks is already up front,” Lily told her.
The pastor from Jamestown had agreed to perform the ceremony for them.
The ushers opened the door.
“Here we go,” Lily said softly, stepping forward.
Beth followed behind her sister.
“He’s there,” Willa whispered, seeing Lucky waiting for her beside the podium.
“Was there any doubt?” Angus asked.
Curling her arm through his, she didn’t take her eyes off Lucky. “None at all.” She crossed two of her fingers that were holding the bouquet. “None at all.”
*
*
*
Willa paced back and forth in the small bathroom, knowing Lucky had to be wondering what was taking her so long. She sat down on the edge of the tub, feeling as if she were hyperventilating.
“He wouldn’t use his knives on our wedding night,” Willa whispered out loud to give herself courage.
“Did you say something, Willa?” Lucky’s voice from the other side of the door had her jumping to her feet, double-checking that the door was locked.
“I said I’ll be right out!”
They had decided to stay at her house tonight then leave for their honeymoon to Jamaica tomorrow afternoon.
She took another glance at herself in the mirror. The black, baby doll gown came to her knees, and the bodice dipped between her breasts, giving a generous view. The gown was daring for her, but it didn’t scream ‘come and get me’, either. Willa wished she had been more adventuresome when she had picked her lingerie for her honeymoon. The prices on those flimsy bits of material had been hard to talk herself into, though. She thought the one she had on was seductive, and the best part was she had found it for thirty percent off in the expensive store.
The most expensive one had been a present from Sex Piston, and she had packed it in her suitcase, but she was seriously debating taking it back for a refund. There was no way she could ever envision herself wearing the minuscule bra and panty set.
Her hand went to the doorknob. She could do this. Lucky had shown her twice what kind of pleasure came from being with him. He wasn’t going to hurt her. She wanted him so badly her mother would be ashamed of her, because a good, Christian girl never let her body’s needs control her.
She turned the lock, twisting the door handle then gradually opening the door. She didn’t know what she had expected, but seeing Lucky sitting on her bed, playing PS4 wasn’t one of them.
Travis had left Charlie’s behind, explaining he had several at his ranch for the ranch hands to use and that Charlie would have it here for when he visited.
“Wanna play?” Lucky threw her a quick glance. “I’m winning.”
“That’s a real shocker.” Willa tentatively sat down on the bed next to him.
He was only wearing a pair of shorts, and her eyes traced down the tattoos on his legs. Most of them were religious. The one on his thigh made her want to trace the outline of Mary to give her the courage she had always wanted. The sad look on her face and the tear rolling down her cheek touched Willa. She wondered what had made Lucky pick the ones he had inked on his body.
She placed her pillow against the headboard, giving herself an unrestricted view of the ones on his back without him knowing she was staring. They were different, not religious. They were symbols of violence and destruction.
The center was a Navy Seal insignia with a snake wrapped around it from the bottom up, leaving the face of the snake glaring back. Objects surrounded the insignia: two revolvers with a metal chain wrapped around the barrels of the gun, linking them together; brass knuckles; a hand of cards; and a razor knife. The whole tattoo had a layer of shadows, giving it an eerie effect.
She didn’t want to know why he had chosen those. She shivered as she reached out to trace the hand of cards. Then her eyes went to the horseshoe on his shoulder, seeing the scarred flesh beneath, the ridges giving the horseshoe a more realistic appearance. The four leaf clover hid what looked like another scar. The largest scar was covered by an elephant with its trunk up. Her fingers traced each of the symbols.
“Why did you get the rainbow?”
“Because of God’s promise in the Old Testament after the flood.”
“Oh.”
Lucky threw down the controller and, picking up the remote, he turned the television off. He turned, scooting down slightly on the bed, and then flipped onto his stomach with his head at her waist.
“The dolphin?”
“Protection.”
“Is that one a cricket?”
“Yes, crickets alert you to danger. They stop chirping when someone gets near.”
“Good luck symbols don’t go against your religious beliefs?”
“God created them all,” he said simply. “Besides, I don’t put my faith in them; I put my faith in Him.”
“A little extra luck never hurts.” Willa smiled, running her hand over his shoulder.