My Plus One

After their vows, as they slipped the rings on each other’s fingers, the minister smiled and pronounced them man and wife, telling Chris that he could now kiss his bride.

The way Chris looked into his bride’s eyes before he pulled her into his arms and claimed her lips, had everyone clapping and a few of the men whistling, as the kiss seemed to go on and on.

Finally, they pulled apart, both of them beaming at their family and friends, now that they’d done the deed and were finally married. Laughing and smiling, Chris offered his bride his arm as they made their way up the petal strewn path, back into the hotel for the reception.

When Marina finally stepped out from behind the people blocking his view, the moment Henry got his first look at her, he actually froze where he was standing and just stared. “Wow,” he said, his lips curling up in a slow appreciative smile as he approached her. “You are one sexy looking Jessica Rabbit and that is an incredible dress.”

Smirking, as she looked him over in his perfectly fitted suit, she reached up and tweaked his bow tie. “Darius picked it out for me, thought it would be a good fit with my red hair.”

Henry slipped his arm through hers, covered her hand with his, winked and said, “Then remind me to thank him.”

The Ballroom was magical, transformed into a Halloween Wonderland. Oddly spooky and romantic at the same time, Marina thought as she gazed around at the white silk covered walls with subdued blue lighting shining up from the floor. Which worked perfectly with the tiny, sparkling fairy lights nestled in the black billowing ceiling and bright orange pumpkins and groupings of fall flowers tastefully scattered around the room.

“Oh, I’ve got to see the cake,” she said, pulling him along when she noticed everyone oohing and awing as they gathered around it.

“Henry, you’ve really outdone yourself.” Marina squeezed his arm, her eyes going everywhere at once. “There’s just so much detail. And somehow, you’ve managed to make it look as spooky as it is sweet. You’re just so talented. The old haunted house with the web-covered windows looks amazing. And I love those red-eyed buzzards, staring down at the tomb stones. You’ve made them look a little comical and not so scary, sitting close together on the long, dark branches, like a couple of love birds. It’s absolutely perfect.”

Henry just shrugged as everyone kept patting him on the back and telling him what a great job he’d done, as he muttered, “I just hope they like it.”

He didn’t know that Jenn and Chris were coming up behind them to take a look. The moment she saw it, Jenn gushed, “Oh wow! I love it!”

Henry chuckled at the way she threw her arms around his neck and dusted kisses all over his face. “Thank you so much, Henry. It’s everything I’d hoped for and more.”

Giving him a wink, Chris patted his brother’s shoulder and quietly said, “Thanks bro’.”

Just then the band struck up, leading off with a jazzy rendition of “That Old Black Magic,” as tuxedo clad servers began wending their way through the costumed guests, offering hot hors dourves and cocktails.

Chris swept his bride into his arms and onto the dancefloor, everyone smiling as they held each other’s gaze and had their first dance together as man and wife. Gradually, as the song wore on, the floor filled up, as a few others joined them.

Marina smiled and thanked the waiter as she accepted a glass of white wine, then leaned in and whispered to Henry, “Look who’s out there dancing cheek to cheek.”

Smiling, as he watched them, Henry remarked, “And they look pretty happy, too.” His father turned his head just then and gave him a wink as he hugged his mother a little closer and brushed a kiss to her cheek.

Nice as it was to see his parents getting along, Henry was having a hard time thinking of anything but Marina. Wondering how he could process even a single thought that didn’t involve getting her naked, when she was standing beside him looking like sex on legs.

Taking a quick look around, he noticed he wasn’t the only one. It seemed every guy in the room was taking their time looking her over. Though he couldn’t really blame them. She just looked so incredibly sexy with her long, red hair curling down over her shoulder. Her perky breasts almost spilling out over the top of her dress and the long slit at the side, giving him a nice view of her shapely legs. He could feel himself getting hard just imagining how good it would feel to peel off the little red sparkler, so he could take his time doing a little exploring.

Amazingly, what really impressed him though, was that she was happy to join in the fun, although she’d never met his family before, she seemed to fit right in. She’d even been fine with sharing a room with Jenn, to keep her from feeling anxious about the wedding, while he’d had to put up with his brother’s snoring.

He noticed a few people leaving the dance floor as the band began to play the sultry, When I Fall in Love. Gazing into her big green eyes, as the singer crooned; “When I fall in love, it will be forever.” Henry knew it wouldn’t take much to find himself falling under her spell, unless he already had.

Eager to have a chance to hold her, Henry took her drink out of her hand, set it down on a table, and nodded his head at the other couples. “How about we take a turn on the dancefloor, and show my folks how it’s done.”

As he slipped his arms around her, the teasing sparkle in her eye as she smiled up at him, already had him thinking ahead to them finally getting a chance to share a bed.

Pulling her tighter into his arms, his hand sliding down over her back, he couldn’t believe how silky soft her skin felt as he traced his fingers along the edge of her dress, barely ghosting the curve of her shapely little backside.

As the lights began to dim, their eyes met. Mesmerized by the look of wonder in her eyes, Henry tipped up her chin, dropped his head, gave in, and touched his lips to hers. A sweet little whimper escaped her as she tightened her arms around his neck, and pushed up on her toes, as their tongues slipped between their lips to deepen the kiss. Tugging her against him, splaying his hand across her lower back, till they were hip to hip, he knew she had to be able to feel what she was doing to him.

Breathless, Marina studied his face as they broke apart, hoping the kiss was just the start of a night to remember.

The slow, teasing smile he gave her as he raised an eyebrow, felt like he was asking her where she wanted things to go.

If she was going to be honest, what she wanted, if only once, was a night of hot, sweaty, mind-blowing sex, that would live with her forever. Especially since she knew it might have to, if they were going to be done with each other after the weekend.

As the song came to an end, and the lights went up, almost forgetting where they were, they looked around and noticed that dinner was being served. With his dark, heated gaze on hers, Henry lifted her hand to lips, pressed a kiss to the back of her hand, and nodded at the table. “I think we’d better take our seats.”

Sitting close, side by side, there was a definite crackle in the air between them. The sense of anticipation almost palpable as Henry slipped his arm around her shoulder and began to gently stroke a finger across the tender skin above her breast, sending a shiver down her spine. As the servers, oblivious to what was playing out between them, were busy placing salads on the table.

Suddenly, a nagging feeling of being watched had her skin prickling. Turning her head, Marina looked around to see if someone was watching. Over at the next table a heavily made-up Elvira, Mistress of the Dark was glaring her down, the intensity in her gaze enough to nearly bore a hole right through her.

“I think we have an audience,” Marina whispered in Henry’s ear.

Henry looked up, groaned and muttered, “It’s Jenn’s cousin, Deandra.”

Her eyes dancing with mischief Marina reached up and stroked her hand along his clean-shaven jaw. “Guess I should let her know that we’re involved, or at least pretending to be.” Surprised when she touched her lips to his ear and even gave him a little lick, Henry could actually feel his dick jump in his pants.

Not done teasing, the little minx drew his earlobe between her lips, making him shudder. And just as she was giving him a playful little nip and tug with her teeth, his mother sat down beside her at the table, smiled and said, “Nice we’re seated together, so we’ll have a chance to talk.”

Marina instantly sat back in her seat, her cheeks a deep scarlet as Henry winked at her, trying not to laugh.

Ugh, almost getting caught by his mother had her feeling like she was sixteen again, messing around in her boyfriend’s basement, learning how to French kiss. She rolled her eyes remembering Mrs. Landry showing up to surprise them with a big bowl of popcorn that she nearly dropped on the floor. When she’d gasped at the sight of her son with his girlfriend on her back on the couch, dry humping her through their clothes while they kissed like there was no tomorrow.

Luckily for Marina, Henry’s mother hadn’t picked up on the fact that her son and his lady friend were practically getting it on at the table when she’d pulled up a seat to join them.

Looking up, his father, dressed as a very debonair Count Dracula in a white shirt and long black cape, smiled, nodded hello and sat down next to Henry. Marina was glad he hadn’t arrived any earlier, or he would have had a front row seat to her naughty shenanigans.

Henry’s dad passed the bread basket over to his son, cleared his throat and whispered in his ear, “Thought you might want to know that I’m working again. It’s nothing like the position I had before, but it’s a good job with benefits. And now that I’m sober, and have been for a while, your mother has agreed to give me another chance.”

Henry looked over at his mother, a little surprised that she’d be willing to try again. Giving him a pat on the arm, he gave his dad a smile. “I’m happy for you, Dad.”

“I know I fell apart when I got let go from my job, when the company decided to downsize. But I gave them almost thirty years of my life, working my way up the ladder. Then when all they did was thank me with a crappy watch and a handshake, and showed me the door, it felt like the bottom fell out of my world.”

“I remember, that was pretty brutal.”

“Well, now that I know what I almost lost, I’m not going to screw up again, that I can promise you.”

Henry clapped his dad on the shoulder. “I think you’ll do it, too.”

Gazing across the table at his mother, his father smiled. “Yeah, now that I’ve got this one last chance, I’m going to do everything I can to keep her.”

Watching Marina talking with his mother, had Henry wondering if she just might be the wakeup call that he needed, to get him to re-join the land of the living. Especially after the disaster he’d been through the last time he’d had the courage to put himself out there.

He’s dad nudged his elbow. “Your lady friend seems nice. She’s a pretty one, too.”

“That she is,” Henry agreed, smiling at the way Marina was already hitting it off with his mother as they chattered away, laughing like they’d known each other forever.

Marina thought his mother looked stunning in her midnight-blue sheath dress, long black gloves and little tiara tucked in her upswept sandy brown hair, with a double string of pearls adorning her neck. “I love your dress. It’s so pretty, it hardly looks like a costume.”

His mother leaned in and told her, “Darius said it’s the Audrey Hepburn Look from Breakfast at Tiffany’s. And he thinks it makes me look like a cougar on the prowl.” Both of them laughed as they agreed that Darius was a lot of fun.

“Have you heard about the ghost that’s supposed to be haunting this place, apparently he’s a flasher,” his mother whispered to Marina.

“Really?” Marina giggled. “That’s hilarious. Doesn’t sound like your typical ghost.”

“I think it might be fun to run into him, just to see if it’s true.” Marina nodded in agreement, as she reached for her wine, then she nearly choked on it when his mother remarked, “Imagine coming back from the dead, just to wave your willy around at poor unsuspecting people. Of course, he might be on the small side, and has issues.”

Still laughing with his mom, Marina caught Henry looking. And he could actually feel the warmth of her smile, as her eyes lit up as she gazed into his, making him smile back and reach for her hand.

All he could think of now was finishing what they started once they were alone in their room.

It helped that dinner was amazing, and his dad was in fine form, making them all laugh, like he used to do in the old days.

When it was time to cut the cake, Henry said to Marina, “We should go and get a picture.”

“Good idea.” She reached for her purse.

Posing for the photographer and videographer, Chris had his arms wrapped around his bride, while they held the knife poised over the cake. Then with a wink at his brother, he loosened his grip and let Jenn push the knife in, till she realized she’d hit something solid. “There’s something buried in the cake,” she said, taking a closer look, she used the knife to pull out the ring box.

Then she turned, and her mouth fell open as she looked at her new husband. “Oh my goodness, what did you do?”

Chris shrugged. “Why don’t you open it and see.”

Jenn quickly wiped the icing off with a napkin. When she popped it open and saw the school ring from her high school, engraved with the year she would have graduated, eyes brimming with tears, her bottom lip trembling, she mouthed, “Oh, Chris, thank you.”

“You’ve graduated, sweetheart,” he told her as he pulled her diploma out from under his jacket.

“This is the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me,” she said, throwing herself into his arms, clutching her diploma.

Holding her close, Chris kissed her cheek and she squeezed him tight with happy tears running down her face as she laughed.

Marina was looking confused and a little worried, so Henry explained about her missing out on graduating because of her career.

As she realized what he’d done, Marina smiled up at him. “That was a really nice thing to do.”

“It was Chris’s idea. I just hid the ring.”

She noticed he was pretty humble, which was another thing she liked about him. A lot of guys she’d known loved to brag about themselves. But not Henry. Although, with a thriving career like his, he had plenty to brag about.

The band took a break after dessert was served, and everyone got a chance to taste Henry’s delicious red velvet wedding cake.

The disc jockey waved at the happy couple as he took over, playing nothing but disco, as requested by the bride.

Jenn and Chris took to the floor, and everyone followed shaking their booties and laughing. The baby boomers really got into it, belting out the words to all the disco hits, as they danced to Donna ‘Summers Last Dance,’ Earth Wind and Fire’s classic, ‘September’ and Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, ‘Don’t Leave Me this Way,’ and of course Le Freak’s, ‘Chic.’

When Kool and the Gangs, ‘Ladies Night’ belted out from the speakers, the men all stepped off and circled the dancefloor, to let the ladies have some fun.

Jenn and Marina, dancing with the two mothers, were laughing like crazy, as they hip-bumped each other.

Smiling, Chris nudged his brother, “Hey, mom’s got some moves. Never really seen her dance like that. She’s really letting loose.”

Henry was too busy watching Marina shaking her sweet little bootie, to notice anyone else. Already, she looked like she was part of the family, and everyone seemed pretty happy that he’d decided to bring her as his date. He was glad he’d decided to ask her, too, or he never would have realized how easy going and fun she really was.

It was late by the time the music was winding down and the newlyweds were waving goodnight, so they could head up to the honeymoon suite. Tomorrow after brunch with the family they’d be heading off for a romantic little getaway in a secluded cabin somewhere off in the woods.

Considering that they could go anywhere they wanted, Henry knew they must really be in love, if all their idea of a perfect honeymoon was spending some quiet time alone together.

After Henry had hugged his brother, with an affectionate thumb on the back, and he’d kissed his new sister-in-law goodnight, as Jenn and Marina squeezed each other tight, grinning like old friends, Henry was more than ready to finally head up to their room.

As they rode up silently in the elevator, Henry laced his fingers through hers, lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to the back of her hand, with both of them thinking ahead to what was about to happen once they got to their room.

Henry had barely unlocked the door, and things heated up fast. He had her pinned up against the wall, sliding his hands under her dress, and over the back of her thighs as he claimed her mouth in a smoking hot kiss.

Marina feeling as lost as he was, desperately sucking on his tongue, had him groaning, as he cupped her ass in both hands and squeezed.

“I need you naked,” he breathed against her lips.

She could only nod as Henry’s mouth descended on hers, their tongues teasing, their hands roaming, as their hearts nearly pounded out of their chests.

Her voice ragged, she gasped. “Henry, I need to feel you inside me.”

His pulse racing, he swept her off her feet, and carried her over to the bed. Dropping her onto her back, he unfastened his tie, tore off his jacket, and tossed it aside. His eyes blazed with desire as she stared up at him wide-eyed, trembling with anticipation.

She felt a shiver go through her as she watched the rest of his clothes disappear, as he kicked off his shoes, tugged away his socks and finally unbuttoned his pants. Then he reached for his fly, with his eyes locked on hers, and he cocked an eyebrow — and waited.

Marina licked her lips, screaming inside her head for him to please drop his pants. She needed to see, to touch and oh god to feel every last inch of that magnificent body, or she felt she might actually die.

His gaze was teasing as he watched her tremble, as slowly, inch by inch, he tugged down his fly, till his pants were pooled at his feet. Eyes wide, she zeroed in on what was bulging in his skin tight, black boxers as it fought to break free.

There was no mistaking the need in her voice as she whispered, “Henry, please…”

Finally, he relented, pushed down his boxers, kicked them away and his cock sprang free. Watching her expression as her eyes grew even wider, and her mouth fell open, he smiled, fisting himself in his hand. “This what you want?”

Though she nodded her head that it was, she just kept staring. Wondering how it would ever fit, as she took in the sight of him so incredibly thick and long, and fully erect, and already weeping with a bead of pre-cum oozing from the slit.

Blinking her eyes, she murmured, “God, you’re huge. I think you’re even bigger than my cake!”

Chuckling, Henry shrugged, sliding his hand along his shaft. “Maybe a little above average.”

Marina rolled her eyes skyward. Not that she’d been with that many men, but she’d seen enough to know, that what he was fisting in his hand, was nowhere near average.

Then she jumped when he broke into her thoughts, and told her, “I need you on your front,” as he took her by the shoulders, helping her roll onto her stomach.

“Why?” she asked, looking over her shoulder at him, sounding slightly panicked.

Knowing what she was thinking, he smiled against her ear as he whispered, “So, I can unzip your dress.”

Sliding the zipper down, she shivered as he dropped his head and dusted kisses across her shoulder blades and down the length of her spine. Groaning, as he pressed a kiss to her lower back, he savored the sensation of licking his way across the tops of her soft, warm cheeks.

Tugging off her dress he tossed it aside, mesmerized at the sight of her, enticingly bare, save for a tiny red lace thong that barely covered her sweet, tight ass. His cock lurched in his hand as he inhaled the heady scent of her arousal, imagining how good they’d be together once he was finally pushing his way inside her.

As he helped her roll onto her back again, gazing down at her beautiful bare breasts, so full and round, her dusky pink nipples fully erect, he just had to have a taste.

But first, he tipped up her chin, and enjoyed taking his time savoring the feel of kissing her soft, warm lips. Then with her softly smiling into his eyes, he began to trace a slow, sensual path with his tongue across her collar bone, and down over the swell of her breasts, licking around each one, while carefully avoiding her nipples.

The way she narrowed her eyes, and nearly growled made him laugh as he kept up the torture, sliding his tongue into her cleavage, lapping and teasing, knowing exactly what she wanted.

Slowly, lashing a warm, damp path around each breast, tickling the undersides with the tip of his tongue, he soon had her giggling. At least until he latched on and sucked one of her nipples into his mouth. Throwing her head back, she twisted her fingers through his hair, softly mewling as he made slow, sweet love to each breast in turn.

“Every inch of you is beautiful,” he whispered as he gently flicked at her nipples with his tongue, smiling at how hard and pebbled they were getting as he traced circles around each diamond hard tip.

She had a such a lean, tight body, but with a nice set of curves. And the inviting little of tuft of red curls over her pussy had him eager for a taste. Spreading her legs open wide, he trailed his tongue over her belly, her mound, and inhaling her honeyed scent, he parted her lips and lashed out his tongue to discover that she was every bit as sweet as he imagined.

Marina nearly bounced right off the bed the second he licked her. Smiling against her sex, he realized how responsive she was, as he dragged his tongue from her tight little back pucker all the way to her swollen clit, murmuring, “You’re so sweet, you’re like honey.”

Eyes wide, every inch of her shivering, she could hardly absorb what was happening. No one had ever gone down on her quite like this before. Usually, it was just a quick lick and they were done, thinking they’d done their duty. But now that he’d shown her what he could do with that tongue of his, she absolutely loved it! The heat of his mouth, the touch of his probing tongue, ooh and his fingers sliding their way inside her, had her shuddering all the way to her toes.

“Oooh, Henry, yessss, yessss, yessss,” she hissed as he kept sliding his tongue through her folds, tracing circles around her clit, till he had her dissolved into a quivering mess.

“You like this?” He asked, smiling, as he pressed hot, open mouth kisses to her heated flesh.

“No,” she gasped, breathlessly.

He looked up at her, confused. “No?”

Smirking, she stroked his head. “No. I love it. No one has ever made me feel like this before.”

“In that case, I’ll try and make it really good for you.”

Oh, god. What could he possibly do to top that, she wondered, considering she’d never come so hard in her life.

But thoughtful man that he was, he soon showed her. “Oh, it’s good. Hmmm, so good. Just like that,” she murmured as Henry went back to lapping and licking and suckling, like she was the best thing he’d ever tasted. Till he had her nearly sliding right off the bed, sure she’d never felt as utterly boneless.

Apparently, intent on making her come and come hard for just as long as he could, he had her tossing her head on the pillow, her back arching right off the mattress, as she came again in a blinding rush, crying out, “Oh, yes, Henry, yes! Please don’t ever stop… please!”

He chuckled as he slid two fingers inside her to give her a little more of what she needed, and watched her breathlessly writhe as he located her g-spot, and carefully nursed her through her orgasm. Looking up at her pretty face, she just looked so blissed out, he knew he’d never seen anything as sexy as watching her fall apart as she came.

As she began to slowly come back down to earth, her breasts still heaving, Marina watched, feeling a little spellbound as he plucked a condom out of his wallet and offered to let her do the honors. She blinked at him. “You trust me?”

His lips twitching, he nodded. “Maybe not with a cake, but I trust you with me.”

Though he’d been teasing, he realized then that he really did trust her, maybe even with his heart, which was something he never thought he could do again.

Eyeing his pulsing erection staring her in the face, licking her lips she looked up at him. “Would it be better if I wet it first,” she smirked, “like with my tongue?”

Henry could feel his eyes rolling all the way back in his head as he imagined her sliding her hot little tongue over every long, hard inch of him. But still, she had him chuckling with the teasing way she’d asked him. “If you’re asking for permission, the answer is yes.”

Giving him a naughty smile, she circled him in her hand, leaned in and barely touched him with the tip of her tongue. “Fuck, Marina, that feels good.” He groaned, throwing back his head and sinking his hands into her hair.

Wow, was he ever sensitive. If that little lick was enough to nearly get him off, she decided to see what he’d do when she really had a taste of him.

Really getting into it, now that she saw how good it could make him feel, she took her time, slowly licking all around him. Tracing her tongue up and down, she lapped a little longer around the head, noticing he really seemed to like that, the way he was tightening his hands in her hair and starting to groan even louder.

“That feels incredible,” he said, as his legs began to shake.

Smiling up at him, she liked that he was into giving feedback, and voicing what he was thinking. Since she’d never considered herself much of an oral aficionado, it was good to hear what he liked. Especially, since this was the first time she’d ever really enjoyed doing this for anyone. Probably because he was almost levitating in mid air, he looked so blissed out, just from a little teasing with her tongue. That and the fact, that she realized she was more than a little in love with him.

Letting her gaze roam over his firmly muscled body, she noticed that he was every bit as sexy as she imagined, too. With a nice matt of thick, dark chest hair trailing all the way down his perfectly toned abs and then lower still to his nicely trimmed package.

As she licked around him, and gave him a little more suction, gently rolling his balls between her fingers, she wondered if he’d shaved with her in mind, or if it was just part of his normal routine to keep himself tidy.

Running her hands up over his body and burying her fingers in his chest hair, as she sucked him a little harder, she liked to think the manscaping was done just in case he found himself like this, with her.

Letting out a low deep growl as he twisted her hair in his fists, what she was doing just felt so fucking good, Henry knew if she kept it up, he’d be losing it before they even had a chance to make love. Considering all he could think of was sliding into her tight little body, as amazing as it felt to have her mouth on him, he knew he had to pull out.

He tried not to laugh at the look on her face when he said, “Marina, you’ve got to stop.” Her lips still stretched around him, blinking her eyes, she looked up at him, confused.

But when he said, “I need to get inside you,” she let him go of him with a ‘pop’, giving him a little smirk.

She held out her hand. “Then you’d better hand me the condom.”

Watching the look of concentration on her face, like she was being tested, and really needed to pass, as she carefully rolled the latex down over his shaft all the way to his balls, made him smile. He’d never met anyone like her, absolutely adorable, quirky and sexy and so much fun. Already, this felt like so much more than just sex.

For their first time together, he decided it had to be missionary, so he could look into those pretty green eyes while he claimed her body with his.

Her eyes were glimmering with a mix of amusement and hopefully a hint of affection too, as she lay on her back, looking up at him expectantly.

Smiling down at her, Henry knelt between her legs, crawled up on his hands, bent and kissed her chin, gently nipped at her bottom lip and then sank his tongue past her luscious lips. Deepening the kiss, he mated with her mouth as he took hold of himself and carefully began to inch his way inside her.

Marina’s eyes grew wide at the size of him stretching her insides to fit, but she still kept her gaze on his as he pulled back and kept thrusting in a little deeper, till he’d finally bottomed out.

Oh god, she just felt so tight, clenching around him, and drawing him in even deeper. “You feel so good,” he whispered against her lips. Definitely the best thing he’d ever felt. She was such a perfect fit, and not just her body, but the way she made him laugh, even now, giving him a playfully wiggle of her eyebrows as he thrust into her body. Nothing ever felt like this before.

She would be so easy to love.

That thought ran through his mind as they kissed and he thrust and she squeezed him inside her, till he could feel he was getting close. And judging from the way she was panting and gasping for air, so was she.

When he pulled out of her, still hard, she looked up at him, surprised. Until he lifted her legs over his shoulders, one after the other, pressing kisses to the sides of her knees as he pushed into her again, giving it to her right where she needed it.

“Henry, that feels incredible,” she gasped, licking at her lips, shivering, as he filled her right up, till he was flush against her.

She didn’t have to tell him, when it felt like he was sinking into heaven with every thrust. Clutching her ankles, his heart pounding, he groaned as he felt a jolt run down his spine straight to his balls. Still pumping hard, he switched up the angle till he could see that she was really starting to shudder and fisting the sheets in her hands, “Oh, I’m coming so hard!” she cried out, clenching around him so tight, he could feel his cock lurching inside her, like it was ready to explode.

Gritting his teeth, he growled as his release pulsed through him, like a volcanic eruption spewing his seed deep inside her as he came. Still gently thrusting, the way she smiled into his eyes, had him wishing they could be like this forever.

His knees trembling, he finally pulled out and dropped onto the bed beside her, as they fought to catch his breath.

Wrapping his arms around her, and brushing the hair back from her eyes, as he gazed at the elated smile on her gorgeous face, he almost told her that he loved her. Somehow, he held back, wondering if she’d think he was crazy. A few days away together, and already he was thinking of her as his.

Coming on morning, still half asleep, sensing her in bed beside him, Henry reached for her in the dimly lit room, pressing kisses to her back. When he felt she was awake, he lifted her leg and slid his hand over her sex till he had her nice and wet, and starting to shiver.

Her nipples tingling, she smiled at him over her shoulder. “You know, I’m clean and on the pill.”

Henry was happy to hear that, knowing that he was clean too, he began to nudge his way inside her. “Good to know.”

Bareback was even sweeter. She just felt so warm and tight, he wished they never had to move a muscle and could just stay locked in carnal bliss. Reaching around, tugging at her nipple as he flexed his hips and filled her up, the sexy little sounds she was making told him she was close, and it wasn’t long till he was following right behind her.

Shuddering as they came, he framed her face in his hands and kissed her as they slid into the abyss, both of them softly sighing, as slowly, breath by ragged breath, they came down from the peak.

Henry had had plenty of sex in his lifetime, but had never felt anything even close to this before. With her, it was like they were connecting on so many levels.

Wrapping her in his arms, pressing a kiss to her shoulder, he couldn’t remember ever feeling as good. It was like magic with her, every time.

Still, before he got ahead of himself, and they got too involved, he thought he should at least bring up the subject of their age. He didn’t think it was fair to hide the fact that he was more than a few years older than her. Slipping his arm around her waist, he kissed his way up to her ear and whispered, “You know, in a few weeks I’ll be forty.”

She turned her head and flashed him a grin. “You sure don’t feel like it.”

Probably because his dick was still semi-hard, even after he’d come. And he had no desire to pull out, and why would he, when it felt so good to be wrapped around her, and still warm and snug inside her.

Nuzzling her neck, he asked, “You don’t think that sixteen years is a lot?”

With a little shiver running down her spine, from the feel of his lips tickling her, trying not to giggle, she shrugged and answered, “You’re not that much older than I am, it’s not like you’re ninety.”

Chuckling, he agreed, “Not quite.” But as he realized where they would have been at the different stages in their lives, sixteen years felt like a lifetime. “But if you think about it,” he mused, “it is a lot of years. You were just being born, the year I started driving. And while I was graduating from high school, you were just starting to take your first steps.”

Heaving a sigh, Marina looked a little sad as she looked back at him, realizing what he was doing. “It doesn’t really matter how old we are, if we’re only going to have this weekend. Then life will go on, just like before.”

Not sure what to say, Henry just nodded. He’d kind of thought, now that they’d connected, once they were back home, they could at least go out once in a while, even just for dinner. But obviously, this was just a fling for her, and she couldn’t see any future for them.

Still, when she lifted his hand to her lips and pressed a kiss into his palm, it felt so good, he thought she had to at least be feeling something for him.

Until he’d brought up the difference in their age, trying to give her a reason why it would never work out between them, Marina had been hoping that this might have been the start of something for them. And maybe they could see each other once they were back home, even just to see where things might go.

But it could be, after going through such an awful experience with his last girlfriend, he wasn’t willing to risk getting hurt again.

The sad thing was, she knew they’d be good together, if only he’d be willing to give them a chance.

Deciding to get a shower, Marina pulled out of his arms, got out of bed and walked towards the bathroom. Smiling back at him, she said, “I’m getting a shower. And if you want, you can join me.”

Henry shot out of bed, and made her squeal and laugh when he picked her up and kissed her as he carried her into the shower.

Since she hadn’t decided just to go in and wash on her own, but had invited him to join her, he still had hope that maybe she felt even a little something for him. At least, he could work with that.

Both of them were smiling into each other’s eyes as they soaped each other up under the warmth of the pelting water. As Henry enjoyed the feel of soaping up her warm, soft breasts, he wished now that he’d kept his thoughts to himself about the difference in their ages.

But as she turned and let him scrub her back, he realized she might have had her mind made up even before they got here, that they’d have a few days of fun together, and that would be it.

At least they were showering together, and still seemed pretty happy with each other.

To test the waters, he pressed himself against her ass, and smiled at the way she thrust back. And when he touched his hand to her back, to get her to bend at the waist, the way she started clawing at the tiles as he bent his knees and pushed his way inside her, gave him hope. Because if they were this good together, maybe they could work through whatever had her shying away from him.

Already, he could tell from her body language that she was about to climax. Reaching around her, massaging her clit, they both began to groan as a wave of indescribable bliss swept over them, as they both began to shudder.

Still buried inside her, Henry wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him, pressing kisses into her hair, wishing she could feel what she did to him.

As he realized, for the first time in his life, that he was in love.

****

Downstairs, the family was already gathered around a few tables in the dining room for the brunch buffet. Henry’s mother was beaming, sitting beside his dad, as he smiled into her eyes, gently stroking her hand. Which had Henry thinking that if they could make it work, after all they’d been through, maybe he and Marina stood a chance, too.

Chris and Jenn had saved seats for them at their table and waved them over when they saw them walking in. As the waiter poured them coffee, Henry chuckled at the look his brother gave him, teasing him with his eyes. Probably could tell that they’d connected. Though he’d have no way of knowing just how deeply.

They were talking about the wedding and Jenn was showing them some pictures on her phone that some of the guests had sent her. When they all turned their heads, when someone started gasping, sounding like they were choking.

Marina jumped out of her chair and ran to his father, frantically pointing at his mouth and struggling to breathe. His mother was waving her hands around, panicking. “I think he’s choking.”

Marina got behind him, wrapped her arms around him tight, bent him forward, and with her hands fisted together, thrust up sharply under his ribs. Then they all watched as an olive shot out of his mouth and landed across the room. Hank was trembling as he drew in a breath, clutching the chair beside him. Looking back at Marina, he murmured, “I think you just saved my life.”

Henry was stroking his father’s back asking him, “Are you okay now, Dad?” As his father nodded, Henry asked Marina, “How did you know to do that?”

“Last class Annika and I took, was life saving. And luckily, I did really well in that.”

He was glad she’d taken that course, or his father might not have lasted long enough for anyone to call an ambulance.

As his mother helped his father back into his seat, Henry said to Marina, “I don’t know how to thank you.”

She just shrugged, and went to see if his dad was okay.

After everyone had calmed down and went back to their tables, a bleary-eyed Darius wandered into the dining room, looking like he could really use a coffee.

Jenn called over the server holding a coffee pot, as she pulled out a chair for Darius. “You, okay?” she asked him, squeezing his hand once he’d sat down.

“Oh, last night there was just too much food, and too much dancing, and maybe a little too much to drink, too,” he said, smirking. “But it was a wonderful wedding, and everything was perfect. And you looked like a queen.”

Watching Darius close his eyes and moan as he took his first sip of coffee, Marina remembered they had to give back the costumes. “On our way home, would you like us to bring the costumes back to your studio, Darius?”

“Oh, I’ve got my big old cube van that I use for deliveries, so I could bring everything I needed. So, I can take them all back with me.”

Then he craned his neck to look around Marina, and smiled at Henry. “And what did you think of your lady love, dressed so fetchingly last night, Mr. Wilde?”

Henry looked at Marina; even with her hair up in a pony tail, dressed in a simple pair of black leggings and body-hugging white sweater, with over the knee black boots, he thought she looked gorgeous. “I think she always looks amazing,” he said, smiling into her eyes. “Though she did look really beautiful last night, too.”

Darius chuckled. “Now, that’s the answer of a man in love.”

Keeping his eyes on hers, Henry squeezed her hand, thinking that he wasn’t wrong.

Darius put down his coffee, leaned in and whispered loud enough for them both to hear, “I just hope I get an invite to the wedding.”

Laughing, Marina looked to see Henry’s reaction, thinking he’d be uncomfortable talking about marriage, especially between the two of them. But he just kept smiling into her eyes, giving her hand another little squeeze.

Darius set his coffee cup back in the saucer and with his brows raised, he looked back and forth between the two couples. “Just to put it out there, for future consideration, I would like to point out that Darius is a very nice name for a boy.”

As everyone laughed, he winked at Jenn and whispered against her ear, “Soon, I hope your dream comes true, and you’ll be blessed with your very own bundle of joy.”

Jenn kissed his soft brown cheek, and whispered, “Let’s hope.”

After they’d all said their goodbyes with lots of kisses and hugs, Henry went to the front desk to settle their bill, so could they start their journey back home.

He was surprised when the man at the desk, shook his head when he went to hand him his credit card, smiled and said, “Everything’s been taken care of, Sir, courtesy of the bride and groom.”

Marina standing nearby, was looking closely at a small framed photograph on a table by the front desk. Though it was kind of fuzzy, she could tell it was a young man dressed in what looked like old fashioned waist-coat and britches. As she studied his eyes, she could see that he looked haunted; his expression pained as he stared back at the person taking the picture.

As Henry put his credit card away, thinking he’d have to call and thank his brother and his new wife, Marina asked the man at the desk, “Does this man in the picture have something to do with the estate?”

Looking down at the photo, the young man nodded. “One of our guests, out for an early morning jog took that picture. That’s William McPhee, affectionately known as ‘Willie,’ our resident ghost. Legend has it, he was a groom here at the estate, and he fell madly in love with the owner’s daughter, a very pretty red-head,” he said, smiling at Marina. “When the owner caught them alone together in the stable, he had the other servants tie him up, while he went to get a butcher knife from the kitchen, so he could dismember him, to make sure it never happened again. Imagine the terror in his eyes. His heart had to be in his throat as he awaited his fate.”

Marina’s eyes went big. “Oh, my goodness. And did he actually do it?”

He shook his head. “Apparently not. It seems the other servants took pity on Willie, since he was always friendly with the staff. As the master was looking for a knife, they let him go, and said that he’d over powered them.”

“Oh, wow. What an amazing story.” Then she thought about what Henry’s mother had told her about the ghost. “He’s not the willy waving ghost, that everyone’s talking about, is he?”

The young guy laughed. “That’s our Willie. The theory is, he’s just trying to prove that he got away clean, and he still has is uh… equipment intact.”

“That’s too funny. It kind of makes sense though, he might have lost the girl, but he got to keep the family jewels.”

“Well, some think that he is still roaming the grounds looking for his lady love, refusing to believe that he’s lost her.”

Looking over at Marina, Henry could sympathise. “Too bad we never got a chance to see him while we were here.”

Smiling, the young man shrugged as he went to answer the phone. “Maybe next time. Thanks for staying with us. Hope you have a safe trip home.”

As Henry was steering his way down the winding drive way, heading toward the gates, he looked over at Marina. “You believe that story? Or you think it’s just something they tell the guests to keep them coming back, hoping to see the ghost.”

“I don’t know. It sounds like quite a few people have seen him.” Then she took a glance at the side mirror, and could hardly believe her eyes. She reached over and grabbed Henry by the arm. “Henry, stop! Look back. It’s Willie and he’s waving.”

As Henry stopped and turned his head, he said, “Is he waving his willy, or just waving?”

She laughed at that, but then she said, “Oh, look, it’s like he’s disappearing in a puff of smoke. You saw him, though, right?”

“Yeah, I got a glimpse.”

“Well, I guess we got our answer, because he looked real enough to me.”

“Yep, I’d say they’ve got a ghost.”

Driving down the highway, taking in the fall colors, Henry turned on the radio, and he felt Marina giving him the side-eye as Drake and Rihanna’s, hit song ‘Take Care,’ was playing. As Rihanna crooned, “I know you’ve been hurt by someone else. I can tell by the way you carry yourself. If you let me in, here’s what I’ll do, I’ll take care of you.” He thought it might be his cue.

They drove for a while in silence, till finally he cleared his throat and decided it might be time to open up to her, and let her know where he was coming from.

First, he reached for her hand, and pressed a kiss to her fingers and looked into her eyes, before he started. “I was in a relationship a few years back, that ended pretty badly. It’s basically why I gave up on dating.”

Though she’d heard most of it from Jenn, Marina just nodded, and let him get it out.

“She was dancer, a ballerina, top of her game when she got hurt.

“She’d been wanting to move in with me, and I finally agreed, but I didn’t realize it was because she was broke, and couldn’t afford to pay her rent. I also didn’t know that she’d become addicted to her pain meds, and started buying whatever she could off the street. She needed money to keep up her habit, and for a while I didn’t notice that money was disappearing from my bank account and that she’d also started to sneak money out of my wallet. But that’s when I knew she was in over her head, when I realized she was stealing from everyone she knew. I offered to get her help, managed to get into one of the best rehab facilities in the country. But she barely stayed a week and walked out, and went back to her old ways.” He shrugged. “And then she died. Got hit by taxi fighting with a dealer over some pills.”

“How sad.” Marina squeezed his hand, feeling his pain.

“Yeah, it was pretty bad. We weren’t really involved anymore by then, but it still hit me hard, especially since I had to go down to the morgue to identify her body, with all her family in Russia. I had to call and tell them she was dead, too, at only twenty-seven.”

Not even sure what to say, she wrapped her hand around his and just held it tight.

He shrugged. “So, that kind of put me off dating. Didn’t feel like I could trust anyone anymore.”

She nodded. “I never went through anything that bad, but I know I’ve got trust issues. Last guy I was seeing, was trying to convince me that were solid enough that it was time he moved in with me. Though I didn’t even know where he lived, even after we’d been dating for over six months. Turned out, he couldn’t take me home because he had a two-year-old son, that he’d neglected to mention, along with a baby mama that he was still involved with, considering they were sharing a one-bedroom apartment.

“A mutual friend told me to steer clear of him, and when I asked why, she told me the whole story.”

Looking down at her hands in her lap, she murmured, “It wasn’t the first time I’d been lied to, and eventually I just got tired of trying to figure it all out; who was lying, who was telling the truth, or if I even cared enough to want to know. So, I decided to take a break, and…” She smiled at him across the car. “That’s how I wound up in your class, with my sister dragging me there to get me out of the house.”

He smiled back and lifted her hand to lips and kissed her knuckles. “Well, I’m glad she did, or we never would have met.”

“Me, too.”

When they got to her place, he helped with her bags. At her front door, smiling into her eyes, he brushed a kiss to her lips and surprised her when he winked and said, “Guess I’ll see you in class.” Then he was jogging back to his van and driving away.

“Yeah, I guess so,” she said as she watched the van disappear around the corner.

Or maybe not.

Marina was reading a long wordy email for the third time, trying to decipher exactly what her client needed. From what he was saying, it sounded like he had a large open space that he wanted converted into lots of smaller work spaces, while still trying to make the place feel open and spacious. She shook her head, wondering if she’d read it right, and decided to read it again later, or maybe reach out to him to see if he could explain it any better over the phone.

Rubbing the back of her neck, she thought maybe a cup of herbal tree and stepping outside for a few minutes, might help her to think.

Of course, it probably would help if she could get a certain tall, dark handsome baker out of her head. She wondered how just a few days away with him, had her wishing for more.

But he’d made it pretty clear that he thought she was too young for him, and he wasn’t interested in anything more than what they’d already shared.

He didn’t even offer to come in when he’d dropped her off, just muttered, “See you at class,” and left.

At the sink, about to fill the kettle, her phone chimed, and she picked it up and noticed it was her sister. “Hey you.”

Annika, chuckled. “Hey you, too. So, what have you been up to lately?”

“Oh, you know, the usual.” No way in hell was she going to tell her about her few days away with Henry, or she’d never let her hear the end of it. And her mother would probably be calling her next, to ask her what happened with this new man she’d heard about, because her sister could never keep a secret.

“Well, at least we’ve got the cake class tomorrow night to look forward to, so that’ll get you away from the house for a couple of hours.”

Marina wrinkled her nose as she tried to wiggle out of going. “I was kind of thinking that I might not go back. I’m pretty busy right now. And as we all know, I don’t exactly have a knack for creating pretty cakes. You saw that disaster I made last time.”

“But we’ve finished everything we’ve taken so far, even that horrible hot yoga class that we both hated. Frying our asses off every week, and twisting ourselves into pretzels, was no fun for either of us. We got through it though, and stuck it out till the end. And this class is just for fun. It’s not like we’re being tested, or anything. So what if your cake looked like a dick. We’re still learning something, and getting a little better at it every week.”

Except, that she was afraid that her heart might actually break the minute she saw Henry again.

As Marina walked into the classroom with her sister by her side, she was a little afraid to lift her gaze from the floor to look at Henry.

But he seemed fine, and just smiled and said hi to everyone like he usually did. And told them they’d be working on birthday cakes, which he thought would come in handy for most of them

He took a few white iced cakes out of the fridge, and explained as he created a border around the bottom of one of them, that there were lots of different trims they could use to finish off a cake.

He let Annika try and do some of the border, he’d just done. Then Irena smirked, looking smug, when the part she did looked as good as Henry’s.

Then it was Marina’s turn, which meant she had to go up and stand next to him while trying to create a border, without shaking like a leaf, or breaking into tears.

Henry noticed her hand was pretty shaky, so he wrapped his hand around hers, and explained, “Just do one loop at a time, and keep the pressure steady. That’s it.”

Though she could feel her heart pounding just from the touch of his hand, Marina just nodded and stepped aside so someone else could do the next part.

After they’d all had a turn, he showed them how to create roses, as he spun a few delicate little blooms on a little metal holder, that he transferred onto the cake.

“Now, let’s do it together,” he said, and walked them through the steps, until they’d all produced something that looked like a flower. A few of them looked almost perfect and some of them, like hers, not so much.

Henry showed them a few of the other specially designed tips and explained how easy it was to pipe leaves or little petals on a cake, which he said they could use to decorate the whole surface.

Marina began to relax when she realized that all they were doing was their usual class, and Henry wasn’t doing anything differently, or going out of his way to make her feel uncomfortable.

Still, she kept her eye on the clock, counting down the minutes till she could clean up her work bench and leave.

Then he said, “Of course, you can’t do a birthday cake without writing Happy Birthday across it. So, I’ll show you a few different ways to write.”

He held up a plastic device that he was slipping little plastic letters into, explaining, “If you’re worried about ruining your cake once it comes to writing on it, this thing’s almost fool proof. You just slide the letters across, centre them, push them into the frosting, then…” as he traced each indention with icing, he said, “you just fill in each letter. See I’ve got HAPPY on there now, and I’ll change the letters and slide on the letters for BIRTHDAY, and carefully trace those, too. Of course, then you can add any name you want, providing that it fits on the slide.”

Everyone tried it, and even Marina thought she’d done a pretty good job, especially when Henry stepped beside her and said, “That’s it, looks good.”

Then he showed them how to write free-hand and a lot of them pulled a face, when they saw how easy it was for him to write beautiful script with a piping bag, knowing how hard it would be for them.

He suggested they practice writing on their work surfaces, so they could wipe it off and try again, if it didn’t come out right.

When he told them, “This is something you should all be able to do by the end of this course, if you practice enough.”

Marina had her doubts, hers looked pretty awful, and really uneven, no matter how carefully she tried to squeeze out each letter.

Henry came up beside her, and as she waited to hear what he thought of her wonky script, her stomach dropped when he said, “I think you’d better stay after class, and we can practice a little more.”

No surprise, her sister Annika was grinning like a fool, after she overheard Henry asking her to stay. Since Annika was her ride again tonight, Marina knew she had to tell him that she couldn’t stay. And she also decided to tell him that this would be her last class.

Deciding she’d try it one more time, she was squeezing the bag of red icing onto her work bench, trying to make a decent letter ‘H’, but nothing was coming out, so using both hands, she squeezed even harder. Then the tip fell off and everyone laughed at the fart sound the bag made when the icing blasted out of the open end onto the table.

Mortified, she looked at her hands, covered in red icing and headed to washroom to clean up. Class was almost over, and she knew she wouldn’t be back.

When she came out again, everyone was gone, including her sister. Except of course for Henry, who was checking the tip that had fallen off her piping bag and caused the mess.

“Did you sift the icing sugar, before you mixed the icing?”

She shook her head. “No, I forgot.”

“That’s why it came off. A solid piece of sugar was stuck in the end, and when you kept squeezing, the icing had nowhere to go and the tip blew off.”

She heaved a sigh. “Okay. Guess I’ll know for next time, though I should probably tell you that I don’t think I’ll be coming back.”

“But there’s still a few more classes.”

“I know. But I feel like I’m wasting your time, when you could be working with someone else who doesn’t suck at this as bad as I do.”

“I wouldn’t say you suck at it.”

She gave him an eyeroll, when she noticed that he was trying to keep a straight face.

“Why don’t we practice,” he said, as he pulled over another plain white frosted cake. “And we’ll take our time, and see what we can do together.”

He handed her another piping bag filled with red icing, and got in behind her and wrapped his hand around hers. Then starting at the top, he piped a beautiful letter, “I.” Then, he piped “Love” and he finished by piping “You.”

Marina bit into her lip to keep from crying as she read the message on the cake. “I Love You.”

He turned her in his arms and whispered, “I do. I love you, Marina.”

She wiped at her eyes. “I love you, too.”

Then he kissed her, long and slow.

Once they finally broke the kiss, he looked into her eyes, and whispered against her lips, “Come home with me tonight.”

“Or, you could come home with me, if you don’t mind the cats.”

Smiling, he kissed the end of her nose. “I like your cats.”

Epilogue

Smiling up at Marina, warm and naked in their big, comfy bed, with her gorgeous long, red hair splayed around her shoulders, Henry decided that after living together for a year, it was time to finally move things along.

Grasping her around the hips, lifting her up, and shifting her where he needed her, he loved the way she smiled into his eyes as she sank her sweet little body down onto his.

“Hmm, you feel good,” she whispered against his lips, grinning as she slipped her tongue into mouth, for a fiery hot kiss.

Groaning, as he thrust up and she pushed down, as their tongues tangled, and they tipped their heads to deepen the kiss, he decided nothing in the world felt better than spending a day in bed with the woman he loved.

Though, it was snowing so hard outside, there was really nowhere they could go. But right now, as she wrapped her warm, soft body around him, as he cupped her breasts in his hands, making her shiver as he tugged at her nipples, there was nowhere else he’d rather be, than with her.

“I love you,” he whispered as he trailed his lips up to her ear, to suckle her earlobe.

“And I love you,” she said as she clenched around him tight, giggling at the way he rolled his eyes.

Then he flipped her onto her back, making her squeal and laugh as he captured her hands over her head and kissed her hard on the mouth as they gazed into each other’s eyes.

He thought she looked as elated as he felt, her green eyes dark with arousal as they began to make slow, sweet love as he began to slide himself back into her body.

Gazing into her eyes, he said, “I’m looking for someone to help me design a house for those two acres I bought, just north of here.”

She nodded, her eyes dancing with amusement as he flexed his hips, did a little grinding and thrust a little deeper.

“I want it to have at least four bedrooms, and a really good-sized kitchen.”

“Of course,” she said, smiling up at him.

“But what I really need is someone to spend my life with.”

Marina stared into eyes, blinking. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that I don’t want to play house with you anymore, Marina. I want to marry you, and have babies with you and spend the rest of my life with you. If you’ll have me.”

Blinking back tears, she whispered, “I would love to marry you, Henry.”

Smiling, he went back in for another kiss as he reached under the pillow and slipped the ring that he’d hidden on her finger.

They had a Christmas themed wedding. Their horse drawn sleigh jingling as they rode to their reception. The sound of horse’s hooves clop, clop clopping, along the old town’s road, had people smiling and turning their heads as they admired the handsome couple. As the two nestled in the back under a big blanket, kissed and laughed and smiled into each other’s eyes, thrilled to finally be married.