“This isn’t the best time, Adriane. Ari is going to cut the cake soon, and I don’t want to miss out on the bridal bouquet toss.” She bit down on a soft pastry and moaned her approval.
The sound escaping her lips instantly sent his blood into boiling mode, and he was worried his secrets below the belt would be quite visible to everyone at the reception.
Shifting to try to hide his reaction, Adriane took her arm, making her look up in surprise.
“You don’t need to catch the bouquet,” he said, his lips near her ear.
“Please don’t start in on the marriage talk again. You promised,” she snapped, pulling against his hold.
“Of course,” he said, though it was only to appease her for the moment. Soon, her family would be gone, and then they would be back on track to their wedding.
“Now leave me be for a while. I’ll speak to you after the reception is over,” Rachel said, quickly moving away from him as she licked chocolate off her fingers.
Adriane’s groin tightened even more. Soon. Very, very soon he would have her back in his bed. Could having a permanent erection without release prevent him from having more children? There was no possible way he would ask his physician.
He’d just have to take his chances.
Picking up a drink, he watched as Rachel approached her brother, who was now smiling and relaxed with his arm wrapped around his wife. Adriane couldn’t believe it, but he found himself feeling a twinge of jealousy over the other couple’s marriage vows.
Rafe had it much easier now than Adriane did. He’d managed to secure his bride to him permanently. But it would be Adriane’s turn soon enough.
* * * * *
Rachel’s stomach stirred as she walked away from Adriane. She’d been avoiding him after their almost intimate encounter at the musical performance.
One reason was the utter delight of being with her family again. The other was that Adriane made her feel strong emotions, ones that she refused to dwell on too much but which she found disturbing.
She absolutely didn’t want to marry him. And be queen? Get real. She was half American and there was no royalty in America. She wasn’t queen material.
“We’re leaving in a couple of hours, Rachel. Are you coming home?” Rafe asked as she approached.
Rachel had made a firm resolve to stay for a month, to really get to know Adriane. But now that she had the opportunity to leave with her family, she was wavering.
If she left right now, she feared her children would never know their father adequately. That wasn’t acceptable. Rachel had grown up with incredible parents, and she wanted all children — particularly her own — to grow up the same way.
Though she wouldn’t marry him for any other reason than love, which wasn’t in the cards, she did hope to be his friend.
“No,” she told her brother. “Now that you know where I am and can come rescue me the minute I call, I’m not worried by being here. I need more time with Adriane, time to find out if he’s a good man. We’ve fought so much these past two weeks that I don’t know him well enough. The week we were together in Florida seems like another lifetime ago. Then, he’d been attentive and such an amazing—”
“Stop right there!” Rafe demanded, his eyes widening in horror.
Both Rachel and Ari laughed as his mouth flopped open.
“OK. I won’t torture you, dear brother. But I do appreciate the cell phone. I will keep it well hidden, so if Adriane acts up again, I’ll call immediately for a rescue,” she promised.
Rachel had no doubt that she’d have to plan a sneak escape if she decided to leave. Adriane wasn’t going to allow her to depart easily, even though they did have an understanding. He was determined to have his children grow up in Corythia.
That just wasn’t acceptable. She would share the kids with him, but she refused to be told where she could live. She refused to be told what to do — ever!
“Thank you for all you’ve done, Rachel. I know your life has been chaotic and frightening of late, and still, you put all of that aside to give me the perfect wedding. I love you, dear sister,” Ari said as she left Rafe’s arms and enveloped Rachel in a happy embrace.
Both women’s eyes filled with affectionate tears.
“I have to give Adriane credit for a beautiful wedding,” Rachel said. “He really went out of his way. I am worried that I’m going to gain a thousand pounds during this pregnancy, though. I’ve practically moved in by the dessert table, and have to bite my tongue when someone comes up and takes one of my precious delectables. It’s ridiculous. I’m surrounded by mountains of food, and I want to hoard it all, not let a single morsel be consumed by anyone else.” She had to laugh.
“I wouldn’t worry too much, Rachel. You’re stunning, and even when your belly is sticking out a mile, you’ll still be the hottest woman in Corythia,” Ari assured her.
“Thanks. We’ll see if you still feel that way in about four more months,” Rachel replied.
“I don’t want to leave you here. It worries me,” Rafe interjected, looking around the room as if searching for danger.
“I’ll be fine, Rafe. I really will. If it gets too bad, just send mother back in. She can get me out while still maintaining peace. I swear, if they’d had her around before any of the major wars, they would have never started. All the generals would have just come together and smiled, singing campfire songs as she passed out cookies and her famous coffee.”
“I have to agree with you there,” Rafe said, reluctantly grinning at the thought.
“I want you both to go on your honeymoon, and I demand that you have an exceptional time. Do you understand?” Rachel said, pulling away from both of them to stare them down.
“Yes, Rachel, we will have a spectacular time,” Rafe said before turning a solicitous look on his wife. “We may even start to work on a cousin for your children,” he added.
Ari’s eyes widened before her lips turned up in a smile. “Do you mean that, Rafe?” she asked, as if afraid to hope.
Rafe’s grin fell as he saw the uncertainty in her eyes.
“We spoke of having children earlier. You still want them, right?” he asked as he pulled her close. Both of them forgot all about Rachel, who was standing there awkwardly, feeling that she was intruding on a special moment.