揙h, no. Are we doing that thing where you tell me what to wear and I have to do it because girls and weddings and you抮e my boss and blah, blah, blah??She makes a funny face.
揥e are. I want a private show with you modeling everything for me. Don抰 bother going anywhere between dresses, I want to see you changing.?My tongue flicks across my lips like the fucking serpent I am.
She hesitates, and I smack her delectable ass lightly.
揈verything抯 in there. My tuxes, too.?I point to one door and use my thumb to gesture behind me. 揕et抯 change separately for this first round and I抣l meet you in the room in fifteen minutes??
揝ounds good.?Her shoulders are high and her spine straight as she marches into the cabin where I had the gowns laid out for her.
I抣l hold off on round one before I see her naked. If it happens too soon, there抯 no way we抮e getting through this little trial run.
Fuck.
I still hope this isn抰 too much for her, like a buried mine detonating and heaving up bad memories.
I put on a black tux and barely manage to tuck my raging cock into my charcoal pants during the impatient fifteen-minute wait before crossing to the main suite.
When I do, I stalk across the corridor like a tiger and knock.
She answers the door immediately. My eyebrows dart up when I notice she抯 still in her black sundress.
揇on抰 tell me. You抮e backing out??
She scans up and down my body with her mouth slightly open.
揅lassic look. I like it a lot! But what else do they have over there??
揘avy blue and seersucker, I think, but first I want to know why my bride isn抰 dressed??I glare at her.
揧our decoy bride, you mean??She smiles. 揌onestly, I spent all fifteen minutes trying to pick a dress…？
I smile and shake my head.
揧ou抮e not Cinderella getting dolled up for the ball. Try them all. That抯 the whole point,?I tell her.
She gives a rigid shrug.
I wonder if it抯 so simple. Her reluctance to choose a dress might be connected to her hatred for all things wedding related.
揧ou抮e okay with this, right??I grab her hand, pushing her thin fingers through mine. 揧ou don抰 have to do anything you don抰 want to. No money ever minted is worth your tears, Dakota.?
She gives me a slow look, something dark and melancholy spinning in her eyes.
揟hat抯 really sweet but…you don抰 need to treat me like a victim. I抦 fine, Linc. Everyone has crap to deal with. Go try another tux on and I抣l be dressed in fifteen minutes.?
She gives me a firm look, a promise set on her face.
揂ll right, I抣l hold you to it.?I lean over and kiss her before I exit.
This time, I choose a cream tux I didn抰 notice before.
Fifteen minutes later on the dot, I knock on the door again.
When she doesn抰 answer, I nudge it open since it抯 unlocked.
My jaw instantly hits the fucking floor.
Dakota stands in front of a full-length mirror in a long white dress. Pale silk flows around her like a foaming waterfall. She抎 be beauty incarnate, Aphrodite come down to smack every man ever born with her glory梕specially this damn man梕xcept for the fact that her jaw is clenched so tight her temples bulge.
Her reflection in the tall mirror beams back glossy eyes.
My heart crash lands in my gut. I have to do something.
揑 thought you hated white? You look like you could be the swan in some Russian ballet. Nice change from the raven schtick, Poe,?I say, playing up the sarcasm.
She whips around at the sound of my voice, turns to face me, and smiles. It doesn抰 touch her eyes.
Damn.
揟hat抯 a really nice color for you,?she says softly, her eyes trailing down my body. 揧our chest is accented.?She scans further. 揙h, and your legs. They look powerful in those slacks.?She meets my eyes. 揟hat抯 the one for sure. Anything less would do the photos a disservice.?
揋lad we settled that.?I brush my hands together like our work is done and close the space between us, wrap my arms around her, and twirl her to face the mirror again. 揇o you know how fucking hot you look right now??
She doesn抰 answer, just glances away quickly.
揝weetheart, why do your eyes look so sad??I whisper, grabbing her and pulling her into my embrace.
揑 just桰 don抰 know, okay? I抦 probably overreacting…？
I thought she might get upset no matter how much she prepared. Seeing herself decked out in a dress when the first time was so traumatic can抰 be easy or controllable.
That抯 why I arranged this梩o help her and help me梑ut still. I can抰 handle seeing Nevermore in tears, and her eyes are only becoming glossier.
揑 want you to look at me and listen.?I wait for her eyes, gently urging them to meet mine with two fingers under her chin. 揧ou抮e beautiful, Dakota Poe. God himself wouldn抰 change a single solitary thing about you.?
Her face screws up. A muffled sob falls out of her.
揑-I抦 not sure. But thanks.?She sniffs again, staring up like she抯 seeing me for the very first time. 揟hank you, Lincoln. That might be the nicest thing anyone抯 ever said.?
I smile.
揑抦 only stating the obvious, woman. I know you can see the effect you have on me,?I growl, pushing into her belly, making her feel my hard-on.
Red excitement fills her face.
揧ou weren抰 thinking about the dress, were you??she asks.
揟echnically, yes, if thinking about ripping the damn dress off counts.?
揟hat抯 my point.?
揘evermore, that抯 what every man thinks when he sees a wedding dress worth anything. That抯 half the reason we agree to get dressed up and march down the aisle.?I search her eyes. 揘ow you know.?
She laughs, wiping her cheek.
揟here must be some good men out there still.?
揧eah, and they抮e all boring as hell.?I lean in and kiss her neck. 揥anting to make love to his wife doesn抰 make a man bad.?
I leave a string of kisses down the side of her neck until I抳e reached her clavicle.
揗mm. Fine. I guess you can be pretty convincing.?She sighs.
She has no goddamned clue, but I aim to enlighten her.
I gently spin her around in my arms, pulling her tighter so her silk-clad bottom rests against the seething bulge she felt a few minutes ago. I kiss the spaghetti strap of the wedding dress.
揂 wedding and a marriage aren抰 the same thing. Not wanting to stand through a long ceremony on full display doesn抰 mean you don抰 value the marriage.?I push the strap over with my hand so I can kiss the bare skin under it. 揋irls are so weird. If my bride wanted a sixty-second ceremony so she could get me alone, I抎 think it was the hottest shit ever.?
Nevermore giggles and her eyes come alive again in green witchfire.
Finally.
I kiss her from her shoulder to the back of her neck, trailing my mouth down her back until I meet the section of dress where the pearl clasps begin.
She wiggles her ass against me, freeing her baser instincts.
I抦 so damn ready, bringing my hands over her breasts.
She whimpers.
I smile, knowing that sigh would be a lot louder without this dress in the way.
I抦 about to ask if I抦 a bad person if I need to destroy it right now, but before I can she turns to face me, closes her arms around my neck, and brings her face to mine.
Her tongue meets mine with a hunger and an urgency and a mad glint in her eye.
I take her then, matching her passion with my own pressure.
She moans against my mouth, pouring sticky heat against my tongue.
I can抰 unclasp the pearls fast enough.
Her hands go to my waist. She undoes my pants and they fall down around my ankles.