Laughing, I said, “Fair enough. Thank you.” I leaned over and placed a kiss on his lips. As I pulled away, Radleigh placed his hand at the back of my head and gently moved me back towards him to kiss me again. As his lips lingered on mine, I closed my eyes, relishing the moment.
This felt like us.
As I opened my eyes and my gaze fell on his, it was like something shifted between us. Another barrier falling down to bring us closer to where we used to be.
For us, i
t was always this simple. Not the fights or the misunderstandings, but finding our way back. Sometimes it took longer, and that thing we needed to get to this point took more time to find, but we always made it. It was like coming home after a rough day at work, or turning the light on in a dark room. It was safety, and warmth, and comfort. And sometimes it came after talking, or shouting, or a time out.
And sometimes it’s chocolate cake.
Nothing more needed to be said. Radleigh gently pressed me down onto the huge fluffy rug we were sitting on, and as he lowered himself on top of me, he kissed me gently. I wrapped my arms around his back, the feel of his skin beneath my hands making me tremble because, God, I’d missed this. Missed being with him this way. He slid his hand slowly up my thigh and he chuckled against my lips as his hand reached my hip.
“Planning to get lucky tonight, Leah?” he murmured as he stroked across my stomach.
“I don’t know what you mean,” I whispered, brushing my lips against his.
“Sure you do.” His fingers circled down my stomach, and as they moved lower, I couldn’t help laughing too as he reached the point where the top of my underwear would have been – if I’d been wearing any.
“Okay, maybe,” I said, running my fingers down his spine. “Is that a bad thing?”
He shook his head, his eyes meeting mine. “Not at all.”
“I mean… I did consider making you wait until our wedding night but-”
“But you could never resist me for that long.”
His smirk made me laugh and I circled my arms around his neck and kissed him again. “Still arrogant as ever.”
“Damn straight.” He winked at me then pulled back a little so he could push my hoodie up over my head then smoothly slid his jeans off. The flame that lit in his eyes as he raked them over my naked body set every part of me on fire, and as he lowered himself onto me again, I closed my eyes and moaned as his hands ran all over me, his touch gentle, full of love. Full of need. He touched me as if it was the first time and he was trying to memorize every bit of me. His lips danced across my neck, my shoulders, and as much as I needed to feel him inside me, I didn’t want any of this to end. I wanted to stay there all night, with us exploring each other like we hadn’t done this a million times. Like we didn’t already know where or how to touch.
“I love you,” Radleigh whispered into my neck as he slowly pushed himself into me.
I felt his words the way I felt his touch, his kisses. They fluttered across my skin then burrowed deep inside me, filling me with warmth, connecting me to him again. “I love you too.”
This was so much better than the last time. So much better than anything I’d experienced with anyone else. Nobody had ever reached me the way he did. We were physically and emotionally aligned, and as we moved together, he took me to that place where stars burst in front of my eyes and the blood in my veins fizzed and tingled in ecstasy until all we could do was lie together and catch our breath.
I ran my fingers through his hair as he lay beside me, his arms wrapped tightly around me, keeping me close.
“I’ve missed you,” he said, quietly. So quietly I almost didn’t hear him.
“I missed you too, baby.”
“I don’t just mean this. Though, I missed this a lot too. I missed being around you. Being here, even when we’re not really doing anything. I love that I can just be me when I’m with you. I’ve always loved that.”
I smiled. “You said you were going to save this for the wedding.”
“I am. Most of it. But I just wanted you to know that part right now.”
Kissing him lightly on the lips, I said, “I feel the same. Always have. Always will.”
Chapter Six – Dove Feathers and White Tiger Fur
The following weeks were spent catching up on the wedding preparation that had been put on hold while I wasn’t sure there would still be a wedding. That meant final decisions on bridesmaids’ dresses, and countless phone calls to the UK to get measurements, and to get opinions on colours, styles and materials. Radleigh and I also had to sort out the food choices for the guests. I’d left Bree in charge of organising the flowers and decorations for the wedding and the reception. We were getting married at our own house, and we’d hired the mother of all wedding marquees for the event – or “party tents”, as they’re known in the U.S. The cost involved was insane, because it included staff to erect it, decorate it, and then re-arrange it for the evening. They had to do this seamlessly, without disturbing the guests. The main reason we’d opted to get married at home was to stop nosy journalists getting a peek at our wedding. We didn’t want to sell our photos to magazines, and we didn’t want any candid shots of me leaving for the wedding, or being followed to a venue. It was much less hassle to organise everything in our gigantic garden, and keep it under a marquee, just in case there were any totally crazy news stations who attempted to take aerial shots. We’d hired extra security to be there to keep journalists from harassing our guests as they arrived, and to keep them from taking pictures of the wedding party, since Radleigh would be getting ready elsewhere. The whole day was like a military operation, but it was a small price to pay to get some privacy on our wedding day.
It was mid-July when things started to get crazy again. I still didn’t have my wedding dress sorted out on the day of my hen/bachelorette party. The plan for the party originally had been for us to check into a hotel early afternoon, grab ourselves some spa treatments, eat a posh dinner, then get dressed up for a night on the town, spending the night in the hotel afterwards. However, since I didn’t have my dress yet, my friends took over and told me we were cancelling the spa treatments and going shopping instead.
On the morning of the party, a little before I was due to leave, I staggered downstairs carrying a small suitcase. Honestly, with everything I had to take with me for the night out, I could easily have filled a few more, but Radleigh had laughed at me as I packed up the small one. He’d have had a fit if I’d taken something bigger just for one night. The thing was, it wasn’t just my clothes. It was the additions to our ridiculous outfits, plus make-up and hair products that took up the space.