Torn (33 page)

My mouth fell open, my eyes flicking from one person to the next, trying to decide how to respond to his smug ass. But I had no words. No moves.

And my speechlessness made Drayden beam from ear to ear. Finally, he had me. No more shamelessly flirting with his wife. “Damnit,” I muttered. “You’re right, man. No more accosting your wife. But I can’t be held responsible if she decides to attack me. You know, when she wants the attentions of a real man,” I goaded. His smile fell when he saw his wife move toward me.

“Well, I guess our fun is over now, Eli.” She laughed, the grin returning to her husband’s face.

“Finally,” he whispered, whisking Essie down the hall and to another washroom, throwing me a wink over his shoulder before he disappeared.
      

Dinner was delicious, my mom’s famous pot roast practically melting in my mouth. Conversation was good, laughter and teasing filling the air as we all relaxed into each other’s company.

My two other sisters-in-law, Dela and Bridgette, chimed in, spreading their attention between the adults and their children. Everyone was having fun, but I felt myself tense as the slow tick of the clock’s hand mocked me.

And for good reason.

I had something planned and the closer the time came, the more nervous I was. Looking toward my son, I caught his attention with the flick of my head. I winked and acknowledgment soon graced his face. He was on board…just waiting for me to make my move.

“Kalista,” I said, turning my full attention to her. “I want to change Holden’s last name. What do you think?” Acting as casually as possible, I took a bite of my dinner, the sudden silence around the entire table almost deafening. All eyes were staring at the both of us, waiting for her to respond to my out-of-the-blue question.

“W…Well,” she stuttered, realizing she was in the hot seat, “then he wouldn’t have my last name.” Her acute observation made me smile.

“Then how about we change your name, too?” I questioned, waiting for the moment my statement hit the mark. Her confused expression lessened the more she realized what I’d meant. Her mouth parted and she stared at me, waiting for me to continue and possibly clear up what she must have taken as a misunderstanding on her part.

But that never happened, because I meant exactly what she thought I did.

Pushing my chair away from the table, I stood, reached down to take her hand, and helped her to feet. I quickly saw the looks on my family’s faces, but was too nervous to really appreciate them for what they were.

Acceptance of Kalista back into our family as well as pure happiness for the man they thought was destined to never love anyone else ever again.

With her hand still in mine, I turned her toward me and spoke from my heart. “Kalista, you were my first love. And while our lives didn’t turn out the way we planned, you were my only love. All of the years we were apart couldn’t break our bond. Of course, I would have liked to have had things happen a little differently, but I wouldn’t change where we are now.”

Turning my head to look at our son, I smiled big before turning back to the love of my life. “I love you, more than I can express in words, and I would love more than anything to spend the rest of my life with you.” Lowering onto one knee, I heard a collective gasp around the room. Nerves wracked me, but my deep-rooted feelings for her spurred me on. Looking deep into her beautiful eyes, I said the words I’d practiced for weeks. “Will you do me the honor of marrying me and making me the happiest man in the world?”

She was still in shock, trying her best to comprehend what I’d just asked her. But thankfully, she didn’t make me wait too long. “Yes,” she cried, a tear streaking down her cheek as her hand shook in mine. “Yes,” she repeated, “I’ll marry you.”

Everyone applauded as I placed the ring on her finger. Rising from the floor, I took her into my arms and kissed her passionately, audience be damned. I did my best to keep it PG, but once our lips met, it was hard to pull away. Thankfully, Holden had walked around the table to hug us both, interrupting our moment before we were unable to control ourselves.

“It’s about time, Dad.” He smiled. “Now you can start on that brother I wanted
      
,” he teased, the look on Kalista’s face priceless hearing her son’s words.

“I’ll see what I can do, buddy,” I promised.

KALISTA

S
ix months in the making, I never thought this day would come. We’d dreamt about it when we were younger, our dreams of where we would do it, what we would wear and who would attend always a favorite subject of ours.

Then I left…and those dreams died.

Standing at the edge of the beach, realization dawned on me. Our lives had come full circle. Yes, as Eli said when he’d proposed, our lives turned out differently than we’d planned, but the place we found ourselves and how we felt about each other were worth everything that happened.

My fingers fiddled with the ring he’d given me. He told me how he’d included the original ring he had for me, and at first, I was upset, not wanting to wear a constant reminder of my betrayal. But when he explained how the two rings melded together tied our past and present as one, the sadness lifted and I saw his offering as the true gift it was.

Forgiveness and unconditional love.

“Are you ready, honey?” my mom asked, fluffing the back of my wedding dress. The strapless, cream gown fit me as if it was made only for my body, lace beading stitched into the fabric from the waist down. It was simply gorgeous, and as soon as I saw it I knew I had found the one. Because I wanted to show off my neckline, I decided a classic up-do hairstyle would work best, my dark tresses pinned in stylish curls all around my head.

Securing my veil in place, I nodded and looped my arm through hers. She was walking me down the aisle, and I didn’t know who was more nervous right then.
      

Our wedding was an intimate affair, only family and a couple friends invited to share the day with us. We decided to get married in Tahiti, on the beach at sunset. I asked Jasmine to be my matron of honor and Eli had asked Drayden to be his best man, both people truly happy to stand with us when we pledged our lives to each other.

My relationship with Drayden was pretty much back to normal. We had a long talk a week after the proposal and hashed everything out.

Taking a step toward my future, my eyes roamed the scene in front of me, thankful everyone was able to make it to share our day with us. When I found his mother, a sudden burst of emotion fired off inside me. She was dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief, a wide smile curving her lips while she watched me walk toward her son. Vivian Warner was like a second mother to me. She’d always been very accepting of the serious relationship Eli and I had when we were young, even though she was concerned we were too wrapped up in each other. Then when I’d come home after a long absence, she accepted me back into her family with open arms, realizing I was young and scared when I’d made the biggest mistake of my life by leaving the only man I ever loved. We had a long talk after the infamous dinner where I promised never to hurt her son ever again, when I’d accepted his proposal. She’d seen the sincerity in my eyes and knew right away she could trust me with his heart once more.

When my eyes finally landed on the man who made my heart soar, it was as if time stood still. There was no one else in existence except for the two of us.

His gaze penetrated my soul as I walked toward him. He decided to finally give in to his mother’s wishes and shave for the occasion. Stubble or no stubble, my future husband was the sexiest man I’d ever laid eyes on.

“Are you okay?” my mother whispered, our steps falling in sync the further we walked.

“Yes, just really excited.” I knew my hand shook, but it was only partly from nerves. Radiant happiness poured from me, my heart skipping a beat the closer I came to marrying Eli.

Finally, I was standing in front of him, my eyes trained only on him and his gorgeous face. His eyes shone bright but the closer I looked, I saw a tiny crack in his otherwise stoic appearance. He was truly happy, as was I, his eyes a little glassy from the overwhelming feelings zinging back and forth between us.

The part of the ceremony where we listened to the meaning of marriage then recited our vows was a blur. Before I knew it, we were being introduced as husband and wife.

Our hands entwined since I’d first stepped next to him, we stepped closer until our lips connected. All of the heat and passion I felt for him poured forth from my kiss, but I had to restrain myself; otherwise, our display wouldn’t be fit for spectators. I felt Eli stiffen a little, holding himself back from fully showing me how much he loved me in that moment.

Our lips opened and we allowed each other the smallest of tastes before we parted. There are children present, after all.

“I love you more than life, Kalista,” he murmured in my ear as we walked past our guests.

“You do, do you?” I teased. “How about you show me just how much you love me. Whisk me away and make love to me…your way.” I saw the second my plea registered. His eyes widened, followed by a huge smile.

“The first moment we’re alone together,” he promised.

****

The celebration went on well into the evening. We enjoyed everyone’s company, regaling tales from our youth as we sat around one of the rented cabanas. The slight breeze felt wonderful on my skin and as I breathed in the tropical air, I felt more alive than I had in years.

I was married.

To Eli.

To the man who had stolen my heart when I was just a girl.

To the father of my son.

To my best friend.

To my soulmate.

I was the happiest woman in the world, and I wanted nothing more than to show him just how much. Yawning, I stretched my arms above me and wiggled around on my husband’s lap.

“I hope you’re not too tired, Kalista.” Drayden winked from across the way, his arm circled around his wife’s waist as he swayed into her. He’d had a few drinks, and although he wasn’t drunk, he was certainly feeling good.

“Not
that
tired.” I laughed. Eli’s fingers tightened around my waist, moving underneath me as he tried to adjust himself. I’d felt him grow hard against me some time ago, but I refused to acknowledge it because that would have meant I would have dragged him off to our room, guests be damned.

“Yeah, that would really suck for my man,” Mike shouted, laughing
while he busied himself with his newest conquest, a woman he’d met not two hours earlier at the resort. He was relentless in his pursuits and I only hoped he found a woman strong enough to tame him. He deserved happiness but there was no way he was going to find it the way he currently lived, flitting from one person to the next, never finding what he was so desperately searching for. Whatever that may be.

After another half hour, my simple display of exhaustion triggering the end of the festivities, everyone said their goodnights as we all walked toward the hotel.

Once inside our suite, Eli trapped me against the door, his hips pinning my body while his lips tasted my skin, nuzzling into the crook of my neck. “I can smell your arousal, sweetheart.” He kissed along my jaw until he found my mouth. “I can smell how much you want me,” he growled before kissing me. His taste was addictive, the way his lips parted just enough to tease, his tongue sneaking out to lick and torment before disappearing again.

He was torturing me, working me up until I couldn’t see straight. Every time I tried to deepen the kiss, he pulled back, silently telling me he was running the show.

Yeah? We’ll see about that.

“Honey,” I mumbled, feigning exhaustion once more. “I’m really tired. Do you think we could just go to sleep?” My hands rested on his chest, pushing him back so I could see his face.

He looked stunned. “Are you serious?”

Reaching lower, I gripped him with my fingers, feeling his thickness through his tuxedo pants. I squeezed gently, licking my lips before dropping my hand. “No,” I said, lightly shoving him back and laughing as I raced toward the bedroom. He gave chase immediately, the sound of his laughter booming through the room.

He caught me and picked me up in mid-stride, a shriek of surprise falling from my mouth.

“You tease,” he rumbled, tossing me on the bed before covering me with his body. As he lowered his head, he stopped to stare into my eyes. A moment of silence passed between us, each of us profess
ing our love with a simple look. Then it was gone, both of us lost to
a sea of pleasure and want, longing and desire so unbridled, if we didn’t join together in the next few seconds we were both going to combust.

Rolling off me, he situated himself so he was lying on his back. He’d removed his jacket earlier but was still dressed in his shirt and pants, his bowtie untied and hanging around his neck. Kicking off his shoes, the thudding sound they made when they hit the floor brought me back to the realization that we were about to have sex for the first time as husband and wife.

His hand found his zipper, drawing the metal through the teeth until he had enough room to free himself. Fisting his cock, he gave me a sexy-as-hell smirk and demanded, “Climb on, baby. Wanna take a ride?”