Blindfold

“Is something wrong?” I asked, immediately concerned.

“No.” He shook his head as he cupped the side of my face. I leaned into the touch. “That's just it.”

“I don't understand.”

His thumb brushed against the corner of my mouth. “I love you so much, Aubree.”

“And I love you.” I was still confused.

He reached into his jacket pocket and went down on one knee.

My heart stopped. This couldn't be happened, could it?

“My Aubree.” He took a deep breath. “From the first moment I saw you, I knew you were something special. I wasted so much time pretending I wasn't falling hopelessly in love with you. I don't want to waste anymore. I don't need years or even months more to know that you're the only one I want. The only one I'll ever want. Will you be mine? Forever?”

I didn't even look at the box as he opened it. I didn't care what the ring looked like. It could've been a prize from a cereal box. All I cared about was the question and the sincerity in Cade's eyes when he asked it.

“I already am.” I pushed his hair back from his face. “I've been yours from the first moment I saw you. I love you, my Cade. And, yes, a million times yes. I'll marry you.”

His face lit up as he slid the ring onto my finger. When he stood, he crushed me against him, his mouth covering mine. The kiss was fierce, possessive and filled with more joy than I'd ever felt coming from Cade. I pushed his jacket from his shoulders and yanked his shirt out of his pants. I needed to feel his skin. Now.

He sucked my bottom lip into his mouth as I slid my hands beneath his shirt, feeling the solid muscle there. When my nails raked over his nipples, he growled and picked me up. I wrapped my arms around his waist as he walked me back towards a wall. My arms went around his neck, helping hold my weight as he balanced me with one arm. The other hand moved between us and I heard one of my favorite sounds in the world. Cade's zipper going down.

I had a moment to be grateful that we'd gotten rid of the condoms months ago and then he was shoving inside me. I cried out, the sound echoing off of the walls. He buried his face in my neck as he thrust into me and I now realized how on edge he'd been all night. The knowledge that I'd wound him so tight was a heady aphrodisiac and I moaned.

He rotated his hips, the base of his cock hitting my clit just right, and I jerked. He repeated the motion and I cried out again. He found a new rhythm, adding that little rotation on every other stroke and, soon, I was writhing against the wall, desperate for release.

He raised his head, his eyes wild. He shoved down the strap of my dress, freeing one of my breasts. His hand went to it, squeezing and pinching at my nipple until I was gasping his name, begging to come. Finally, when I knew he was just as desperate as I was, he buried his cock deep inside me and nipped at my bottom lip. His fingers twisted my nipple with the right amount of pressure and I came. I raked my nails down his back and he shuddered, spilling himself inside me.

Even as we were still coming, he pulled away from the wall and wrapped me in his arms, lowering us both to the floor, me straddling his lap as he went to his knees.

“Forever, my Aubree.” His lips moved against my neck as he spoke. “Forever.”

I nodded in agreement, still too far gone to speak. I didn't have to though. He knew what I meant.

Chapter 10

Everything was perfect.

I'd chosen a simple dress this time, something that complimented my body rather than traditional lace and beadwork. My friends told me it was even more beautiful than my previous dress. The one that had never made it up the aisle. I had only two bridesmaids, the two that mattered. This wasn't about what everyone else expected. It was about me finally getting to marry the man I loved.

I'd chosen something other than the wedding march, not wanting to jinx things, but when I heard the delicate strains of my song begin, it didn't stop the butterflies from taking flight in my stomach. As my dad and I stepped through the doors and began down the aisle, I looked towards the front of the church. Adelle was there, and Mindy. My brother stood on the groom's side. My sister-in-law had been too pregnant to fit into a bridesmaid's dress this time.

But none of that was on my mind. No, I was trying to figure out where the groom was. The space where he was supposed to be standing was empty. He wasn't there. He was gone. He'd left me too...

I woke with a start, my heart racing. I let out a breath and looked over at the stack of presents that were stacked in the corner of the room, the smaller ones covering my dresser. I ran my hand over my face, desperate to rid myself of the images still dancing in my brain. Automatically, I turned to the other side of the bed.

Empty.

Of course it was.

“Good morning, my Aubree.”

I smiled as I sat up and watched my husband carry in a tray with enough food on it for both of us. The whole apartment smelled like pancakes and bacon. The nightmare had been just that. A nightmare. My wedding had been yesterday, and I had chosen a new wedding dress. My sister-in-law was pregnant with a baby due in two months so she hadn't been in the wedding. The rest of it, however, the part where Cade hadn't been there, that had been my mind merging the dim memories from almost two years ago.

He set the tray down on the bed and winked at me. He'd put on a pair of sweatpants, but his chest was bare and I enjoyed ogling it as he settled back in the space he'd been before. The cross tattoo was still there, but it had been joined by another tattoo. This one was up on his collarbone. A pair of linked wedding rings with our initials inside matched the tattoo I had on my hip.

“Like the view?” He wiggled his eyebrows at me and I laughed.

The movement made the blanket covering me fall to my waist, baring my breasts. The lingerie I'd worn on our wedding night was somewhere on the floor. Cade had loved it, but it hadn't lasted long before he'd stripped me naked and made me scream so loud I'd worried our neighbors would call the cops. If we'd been at my old place, they definitely would've, but our new apartment had slightly thicker walls.

“Damn, Aubree.” Cade's eyes darkened as he stared at my breasts. “If you don't cover yourself up, we're never going to get to breakfast.”

“I'm okay with that.” I ran my fingers up over my breast and grazed my nipple. I sucked in a breath. It was swollen and sore from how hard Cade had sucked, twisted, pulled and bitten it, but I still felt a jolt of pleasure go straight through me.

His expression was regretful. “But then we'll miss our flight.”

“What?” Because it was June, I wasn't in school and since Cade was self-employed, time off wasn't a problem, but finances were. We weren't doing badly, but we'd had to choose between a honeymoon and a deposit on an apartment in a better section of the city. Since we wanted to start a family in the next year or so, we'd decided the new apartment was more important. Our honeymoon was just going to be time to ourselves, in the apartment, maybe di

He smiled at me.

“What are you gri

He held up something I hadn't seen when he'd first come in. They looked like airline tickets.

“Adelle and Mindy went in on a honeymoon present for us. We leave for Hawaii at one.”

Chapter 11

Cade

I looked down at Aubree as the plane began to descend. She'd fallen asleep after we changed planes and I was reluctant to wake her. Neither one of us had gotten much sleep last night, but I knew she hadn't slept well the night before the wedding either. I hated that what had happened to her before we'd met had made her so nervous, but I had to admit that when I saw her walking down the aisle towards me, I was actually grateful that her ex had been such an ass. I wasn't sure where I'd be if I hadn't met her.