Page 199 of The Wedding

“I love you,” Etta said a million times. A million wasn’t enough. Jamie begged her to say it again, then again, thenagain. She begged Etta with her words and body alike, sometimes clawing at her, and other times deferring to her every movement. The more she said those wonderful words, the more she achieved ecstasy.

Jamie didn’t come once. Or twice. Or thrice. From the moment Etta first joined her body with hers, she was in a constant state of climax. Sometimes, there was a minor lull that allowed her to catch her breath or further appreciate how easily she made love to her, but for the most part, Jamie was a slave to the constant pleasure washing over her.Come with me, Etta. She craved to feel Etta join her in the zenith of blissful consummation.

When Etta pulled on the nipple clamps, Jamie knew something big was about to happen. She could tell from the way the candlelight cast its shadows against the wall.

“I love you,” Etta swore, smothering Jamie against their bed as their hips rocked together. “Be mine, forever.”

Her nails dug into Etta’s shoulder blades, thighs clamped tight against her hips. “I will!” she cried. “I’m yours! Etta!”

Her wife cried her name as well, driving against her, hard, as the first wave of orgasm crashed over them both. Jamie squeezed the back of Etta’s neck, determined to siphon every last drop of her strength.

Etta’s warmth surrounded her as they collapsed together. Jamie shuddered beneath her weight, riding an unprecedented high with Etta by her side.

No amount of dreaming could have prepared her for this moment: the moment they truly becamewives.

They lay, tangled together, one arm wrapped around Jamie as both she and Etta stared at the dark ceiling and took stock of all that had happened.

Since when? Since that morning. Since four months ago. Since they first met, which seemed a lifetime ago.

“We should go to sleep,” Etta said, clearing her throat. It was the first time she spoke in nearly ten minutes. “We have a long flight tomorrow.”

She forgot to mention the part where she had bought a brand-new Gulfstream as one of her wedding presents for her wife. After years of people harping on her to buy her own plane, she finally did it – and went all out. She still thought it was a surprise, but Amanda accidentally left the invoice at the penthouse two weeks ago.

“We could go to sleep,” Jamie began, “or we could stay like this for the rest of our lives.”

“I’ve been reliving the first time we met over and over for the past fifteen minutes.”

Where had that come from? “Please,” Jamie said, snorting. “I doubt youeven remember the first time you saw me. Honestly.”

“You might be surprised. I thought, ‘There’s my future wife.’”

“You’re so full of shit!” Laughing, Jamie rubbed her hand against Etta’s stomach, fingers venturing toward the hair growing between her legs.Wonder if I could get one more out of her…It wasn’t midnight yet. It was still the day of their wedding. “I bet you don’t remember the first words you said to me.”

Etta propped herself up and gazed down into her drowsy eyes. “Greetings,” she recited. “Thank you for taking the time to see me.” Before Jamie could be too impressed, however, her wife continued, “I hope to see you for many, many more years.”

Jamie didn’t say a word as she closed her eyes and submitted to more than her wife – she submitted to the universe, and the idea of happily ever afters. Sometimes, Cinderella was more than a fairy tale. She was real.

She was here.

Epilogue

Sitting down in the doctor’s office was the first big break Etta had had in a week. After returning from her honeymoon in Hawaii and Europe, it was nonstop work, thanks to Adele announcing she was taking a sabbatical – and absconding with Etta’s personal assistant in the process. And some guy named Pierre. I have no idea what’s going on in that department. I also don’t care, as long as they’re back to work when they say they’ll be.Etta bit her tongue because, well, shehadjetted off for over two weeks to relax on beaches, go shopping, drink some of the best alcohol in the world, and spend an insurmountable amount of time making love to her wife.

Jamie stirred in the seat beside her. While Etta took the time to breathe and catch up with her brain, Jamie was so on edge that the slightest surprise sent her up like a rocket.

Yup.Still the luckiest woman in the world. That thought crossed her mind every time she looked at her wife. Still felt funny calling her that, too. For years, Etta never imagined calling any woman her wife. Occasionally, she entertained the idea of a loveless business match, but that wouldn’t be until she was at least forty-five.

No more thinking about that now. Jamie was it. If something unfortunate happened to either one of them, there would be no other wife. Etta had made that promise on her wedding day, and she intended to keep it.

Her phone buzzed. Jamie jumped, her wife pulling out her phone and seeing a text message from Monique.

“Tell me you’re having a better day than I am.”

Etta responded.“I’m sitting in a doctor’s office about to hear my possible fate. Could be worse. Could be a lot better. What’s wrong with you?”

The doctor entered before Etta had the chance to see Monique’s next message.

“Mrs. Coleman. Mrs. Joy.” The old man sat down with a creak of the bones and a squeak of his chair. Etta had seen many manila folders in her life, but they rarely meant good news at the doctor’s. “You’ll be happy to know that everything has come out clear. Mrs. Joy, as far as we can tell, you are perfectly healthy for a young woman your age. If you wanted to conceive, it shouldn’t be too difficult.”