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  to say “no.”

  In seemingly no time, it was two days before the wedding and I was headed out with Felicia and Elaina for my bachelorette party.

  I kissed Nathaniel goodbye when they stopped by the penthouse to pick me up. “Aren’t you a little worried about what they have planned?”

  “No.” He returned the kiss. “I trust them.”

  Felicia snorted. “That’s your first mistake.”

  “Nah,” Elaina said, rubbing her belly. She and her husband Todd, a childhood friend of Nathaniel and Jackson, were expecting their first child. “It’s at least his third.”

  “I don’t think so,” he said, pointing at her. “You’re pregnant. And you”—he pointed to Felicia—“if you do anything too crazy, the paparazzi will be all over it.”

  “Not if I wear a disguise,” Felicia said.

  “You’ve been around Jackson too long,” Nathaniel said. “Although, I’m not sure he has a disguise that could cover up all that red hair.”

  “Come on, let’s go,” Elaina said. “We promise we’ll bring her back in one piece.”

  We left him and took off down the private elevator, giggling as we made our way to the garage. Felicia grew all serious as we walked to the car.

  “There’s one thing we forgot to mention,” she said.

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “You have to be blindfolded so you can’t see where we go.”

  “What?”

  “Oh, come on,” she said. “I’m sure you’ve been blindfolded a time or two with all that kinky stuff you guys do.”

  “Felicia Kelly Clark,” I warned. “That sort of talk is off-limits.”

  “Tell me I’m right and I’ll shut up.”

  I stood beside the car and crossed my arms. “I’ll do no such thing.”

  “I told you I Googled this, right?” she asked, undeterred by my defiance.

  I cocked an eyebrow at her.

  “Read this interesting article on gags,” she said. “We could talk about those, too.”

  “Or not.” I wasn’t sure where Felicia was going with this, but it’d been almost a month since I’d had any type of sex. Plus since she’d once said she didn’t care to hear the specifics of how Nathaniel and I worked, I wasn’t inclined at the moment to discuss it with her.

  “I’ll call Nathaniel,” she threatened.

  “Go ahead.” I shrugged. “In fact, I’d like to see that. Give me your phone. I’ll dial.”

  “Come on you two,” Elaina said. “Felicia, I’ve known Nathaniel for most of my life and he’s never spoken a word to me about his sex life.” She turned to me. “And you, lighten up. It’s your bachelorette party.”

  Felicia looked slightly abashed, but I shook my head. “I haven’t had sex in almost a month. I’ll lighten up during the honeymoon.”

  Elaina groaned. “Tell me he didn’t do that no-sex-for-a-month-before-the-wedding mumbo jumbo.”

  It was my turn to look abashed. “It was actually my idea.”

  “Oh, girl.” She put her arm around my shoulders. “You should have checked with me first. Todd and I did that. Worst idea ever. He lasted all of five minutes our wedding night.”

  “Five minutes?” I croaked.

  “Get inside.” She opened the driver’s side door and slipped behind the wheel. “And I’ll tell you all about it.”

  I walked around to the passenger’s side and Felicia hopped into the backseat. Within minutes, we were on our way to wherever it was they were taking me. We had a spa day planned for tomorrow. I, for one, was looking forward to some serious girl time before the wedding.

  “So anyway,” Elaina said. “Todd had this grand idea that we shouldn’t have sex the month before our wedding. At the time, I thought it was so romantic.”

  “See? That’s what I thought,” I said.

  “It sounds better than it actually is,” Elaina said. “We finally made it to the hotel room at one in the morning and all I wanted to do was sleep. Todd, though? Well, you know men.”

  Felicia snorted. “We didn’t even do the month-before thing and Jackson was like that.”

  I turned around to look at her. “You and Jackson got married the day after you met. You didn’t have time for the month-before thing.”

  She cocked an eyebrow. “I still have the gag.”

  I stuck my tongue out at her and turned back to Elaina. “So what happened?”

  “I told Todd I wanted to sleep and he laid this huge guilt trip on me about how it was our wedding night and how we had waited and how the next day would be busy because we were flying out of the country and blah, blah, blah.”

  Another benefit to Nathaniel’s private jet—we could pretty much decide when we left. We’d scheduled to take off in the afternoon the day following the wedding, which would allow us plenty of time to do whatever we wished to do after the ceremony and reception.

  “I’m guessing from what you said before that you went along with him and didn’t sleep right away?” I asked.

  “I might as well have gone to sleep, he was worse than a teenager. One month we’d waited and like I said, he lasted five minutes. I’m not even sure we’d taken off all our clothes.” She giggled at the memory. “Nathaniel’s older, though, I’m sure he has the control thing down pat.”

  I certainly hoped so. How horrible would it be to have waited for a month and for our wedding night to be over before it started?

  “Funny thing,” Elaina said. “We were living together before we got married and the night before the wedding we talked about calling an early end to our pact. Ended up all we did that night was sleep; we probably should have given in.” She looked over at me. “Maybe you and Nathaniel should give that some thought. End your month tomorrow night.”

  I shook my head. “We’re not even going to be together tomorrow night. I’ll be at the penthouse and he’ll be at the estate.”

  “Maybe you should rethink that,” Felicia said.

  “I’m sure it’ll be fine.” I bit my bottom lip.

  At least I hoped it was.

  Chapter Two

  Abby

  When I woke the morning of my wedding, the sun wasn’t out yet, so I stretched, enjoying what would probably be the last quiet moment of the day. My eyes fell on my engagement ring and it hit me: I was getting married today. To Nathaniel. My dominant. By the day’s end, I’d be his completely. I was so ready.

  I took my time and leisurely climbed out of bed, slipping into my robe and padding over to the window. Light flurries were still falling, swirling in the streetlight. I sighed with happiness, watching as they floated this way then that.

  My cell phone rang and I scurried to the nightstand, smiling when I saw who was calling.

  “Good morning.”

  “Good morning,” Nathaniel said. “I didn’t wake you, did I?”

  “No.” I made my way back over to the window. “Just watching the snow fall.”

  “It stopped here an hour ago.”

  I looked at the alarm clock. “An hour ago was five fifteen. Weren’t you able to sleep?”

  “Not without you.”

  I didn’t sleep too well without him, either, but instead of saying so, I decided to tease him. “I hope that doesn’t mean you’ll have to go to bed early tonight.”

  His voice changed, growing low and gruff. “I’m going to bed exceptionally early tonight.”

  “You are?”

  “Oh yes, and you are too. And I’m keeping you in bed for an inordinate amount of time.”

  Waves of yearning swept through my belly. “How do you plan on doing that?”

  “Because I’m bigger and stronger than you and you’re going to be under me, with me claiming my bride in every way possible.”

  I groaned just thinking about it.

  “By the time I’m finished, you’ll be so thoroughly fucked, you won’t be able to leave the bed for days.”

  I slipped a hand between my legs and circled my clit through the mater
ial of my gown. It had been too long. One month too long. “Mmmm.”

  “I’ll let you sleep for a few hours then and when you wake up, I’ll take you again, but I’ll be slow and gentle.”

  I closed my eyes, imagining it. Nathaniel and I. Cool crisp sheets. A fireplace with a blazing fire. My finger circled faster. It’d been so long.

  “Abigail?”

  My eyes snapped open and my fingers stopped. “Yes.”

  “I’ve been trying to get your attention. What are you doing? You aren’t touching yourself are you?”

  I looked down at my hand. Shit. “Um, yes.”

  “Did you come?”

  “No,” I said, glad that he’d gotten my attention in time.

  “Need I remind you this abstinence idea was all yours?” His tone grew lighter. “This from the woman who claimed she wasn’t into long-term sexual deprivation.”

  I laughed. “What can I say? It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

  “It’ll be your fault if I don’t last longer than five minutes tonight,” he said, joking about what I’d told him concerning Todd and Elaina.

  “In that case, you’ll just have to spank me,” I said.

  My only reply from him was a low moan and a mumbled curse.

  “Want me to change the subject?” I asked.

  “Yes, please.”

  “What time are you leaving the house?”

  “About an hour,” he said. “I’m meeting Jackson and Todd for breakfast. I’ve also invited your dad to join us.”

  My father still lived in Indiana where I grew up. We weren’t very close, I’d always been closer to my mom. She’d passed away several years ago, though, and I’d been trying to have a better relationship with dad.

  “Thank you, he’ll like that. I think Felicia’s stopping by in an hour. We’re going to meet Linda and Elaina.”

  Linda, Nathaniel’s aunt who raised him after his parent’s death, and Elaina were going to meet up with us at the spa where I was getting my hair done. They’d spent the morning making sure the church was ready for tonight. Since Nathaniel and I only had three months to plan the wedding, it’d taken a lot of work on everyone’s part to get everything together.

  It was hard to believe the day had finally arrived. After all the nonstop planning and worrying and picking out this and deciding on that, it was time. I just hoped the last few hours passed quickly.

  “That didn’t sound like a happy sigh,” Nathaniel said.

  “It was an impatient sigh,” I said, not even remembering sighing in the first place. “I’m ready to be your wife.”

  “Six o’clock won’t come fast enough for me.”

  “Me, either.”

  “It’s not too late,” he said. “We could just elope.”

  “You should have suggested that back in September. If I’d known then what I know now . . .”

  “Yes?”

  “I’d have been Mrs. Nathaniel West months ago.”

  “Don’t tell me that,” he said. “I’ll start thinking about all the fun we could have been having in the last month.”

  “Okay then. I wouldn’t have changed my mind; I’d have done everything the exact same.”

  He sighed. “Is it six yet?”

  “Not even close. Do I get to see you before I walk down the aisle?”

  “Not if Linda has anything to do with it. She won’t admit it, but she’s horribly superstitious.”

  I glanced out the window and saw it was snowing harder. “Note to self, either stay away from Linda or keep her occupied.”

  His chuckle was warm and low. “Good luck with that one.”

  “The good news is that no matter what, I’m seeing you at six o’clock.”

  “Then, starting tomorrow, it’s nothing but you and me for an entire two weeks.”

  ***

  Getting ready, it felt like two thousand butterflies were throwing a party in my stomach. It was almost dreamlike to think I was marrying Nathaniel. All those years ago, I would never have believed there would be a day like this that would bind us together forever. And when I left him months ago, I never thought I’d see him again.

  Fate had a different plan though, and our hearts couldn’t be content without each other. Finally, after all our struggles, here I stood, hours away from becoming his wife. I couldn’t remember a time I felt happier. I closed my eyes and tried to commit the feeling to memory.

  “Ready for me to lace you up?” Felicia asked.

  I knew I was probably grinning like an idiot when I turned toward her and nodded. She simply smiled back, perhaps remembering her own wedding day.

  “I’m so happy for you.” She hugged me. “And I love this gown.”

  It was nothing like the gown I’d imagined getting married in, but I knew the moment I’d put it on that it was mine. The sweetheart neckline accentuated my chest, making the most of my small size. A full skirt flowed elegantly from the tapered waist. But it was the top that had sold me. The top was made like a corset, with tiny pearls and crystals sewn in between the lace.

  Nathaniel had me wear a corset a few times during our weekends. He loved the sight of me in one and I had to agree. They made me feel elegant and sexy and completely feminine all at the same time. To find a wedding gown that would both make me feel that way and leave Nathaniel speechless? I was sold.

  I held still while Felicia did the laces and I shivered with the knowledge of who would be undoing them. I imagined his fingers, slowly working on the ties, his lips grazing the back of my neck, the whisper of cool air as my skin was exposed, and the rush of heat as he claimed me forever.

  Chapter Three

  Nathaniel

  There’s something to be said about being the last of your friends to get married. Being the first is hard. I remembered how horrible Jackson and I were to Todd when he and Elaina got married. Of course, we were much younger then, and we assumed no man could get married without a proper bachelor party.

  We had mellowed out by the time Jackson got married. Plus the fact that Abby and I were following along less than a year later toned down the hysteria a bit as well. As it turned out, the prewedding party boiled down to the three of us hanging out at a local bar.

  Much better, I thought to myself hours before the wedding. I stood in a tiny back room of the church, too full of nervous energy to sit down, but not able to walk the halls because according to Linda, doom and gloom would be sure to follow if I laid eyes on Abby before she walked down the aisle.

  Jackson was outside talking with someone about the reception on his phone. Todd had left earlier to run some unknown errand for Elaina, so for the first time in hours, I finally had a moment to myself.