Four of Hearts (25 page)

His hand moved faster, the dryness of his hand abraded the thin silk skin covering his steel shaft. He didn’t deserve comfort. “You might have drawn into the four of a kind, but it still might not be enough to win the hand.” Fallon’s hips moved slightly as she sought the pressure she needed. Richard continued his verbal torture, as well as his own private self-flagellation.

“Are you hurting, Fallon? Do you want me to fuck you?” He knew she did. Her nipples strained for his touch, her hips undulated in a useless attempt to find what was denied her.

“Yes,” she breathed.

Richard tightened his grip on his cock and increased the tempo of his strokes. His balls tightened, and he pulled his scrotum until pain shot through his groin like a hot knife. “Watch, Fallon. This is what you did to me, and to Ryan. Next time you see him, you’ll beg him to punish you this way too.” His voice sounded like gravel ground underfoot. The orgasm gripped his lower body in a vise. Richard forced his eyes to remain fixed on Fallon as the fire erupted from the balls clenched in his fist, and bolted like liquid lightning along his shaft. He swallowed the curses that formed on his lips as searing hot cum shot across his stomach.

Fallon groaned. Her tongue darted out and licked across her open lips. Richard loosened his grip on his cock and balls, and let his body go lax into the sofa cushions. “Come here,” he ordered. “Kneel between my legs and clean this mess up.” He caught a glimpse of Fallon’s smile before she bent her head to the task. Her tongue was sweet torture. Richard cradled her head in his hands, using his thumbs to sweep her hair back from her face. His cock stirred from her ministrations.

It was a long time before he made the phone call to Gabe.

Fallon’s gown draped from one shoulder in a solid waterfall of shimmering gold, all the way to the tips of her toes peaking out of matching heeled sandals. A gold clip held her hair back on one side. She turned from the full-length mirror to admire Candace’s gown.

“You look like you just came down from Olympus,” she said. Candace had chosen a strapless gown of the same gold fabric as Fallon’s, only the fabric was gathered at the heart shaped bodice that nipped in at her waist. From there it fell in soft pleats over her hips to brush the floor.

“I feel like a goddess.” Candace turned in a circle, and the full skirt billowed out and swirled around her ankles before it settled again. “I like this better than my wedding gown.”

“You looked beautiful then, too, but gold suits your coloring.”

“It suits you too. With your hair color, you look like you’ve been forged out of white and yellow gold.”

“I can’t believe we’re really doing this,” Fallon said as she turned back to the mirror to make invisible adjustments.

“Me either. We took a big chance, doing that interview,” Candace said. She turned her head one way, then the other, checking the jeweled alligator clip that held her auburn hair back, and off her neck. “That could have backfired on us, big time.”

“I have to admit, I was concerned for a few minutes, then I saw a change come over Richard. It was like he was relieved to have it out in the open. I know he’ll never admit it, but I think our separation was a lot harder on him than he let on. I’ve never been more proud of him, or sure of his love, than when he and Ryan did their own interview.”

“I know. Ryan scared me to death. I actually thought for a minute he was going to say we were done. Those were the worst moments of my life. Then he came into the bedroom and begged me to forgive him. You know Ryan. Begging isn’t his style.”

“I’ve seen him beg,” Fallon teased.

Candace laughed. “Not that kind of begging!”

“Oh, you were talking about something else?”

Candace warmed at the good-natured teasing. “Come on. We’d better get going. The sun’s almost up, and I don’t want to keep our guys waiting. Let’s get this ceremony over, then we’ll see if we can make them both beg later on.”

“Sounds like a great idea.”

* * * * *

Ryan offered Candace his arm as she stepped from the elevator on the uppermost deck of the
Lothario
. Her smile outshone the gold of her gown, which was enough to take his breath away. “Good morning,” he whispered near her ear, just before he drew her delicate lobe between his lips. He grinned at the shiver that raced through her body where her side pressed against his.

“Is it morning yet?”

“It will be soon. Everyone is waiting. Are you ready?”

“I am.”

Ryan shook hands with Richard and gave Fallon a kiss on the cheek. “Good morning, sweetheart. I didn’t mess up your makeup, did I?”

Fallon placed her fingertips over the spot where Ryan’s lips had been. “No, I’m sure you didn’t.”

Richard slid his free arm around Candace’s waist and pulled her closer. He brushed his lips across her cheek in a soft caress. “You look lovely,” he said.

“Thank you,” Candace said. Her hand slid along his sleeve. “You guys are looking dashing this morning.”

“This is a special occasion. Clothes were called for,” Ryan teased. He wasn’t much for monkey suits, but the formal attire seemed right for this particular situation. “Shall we?” he asked.

He noted the solemn head nods around him. This was it, time to make the commitment formal. Inside the Prometheus Lounge, their immediate families and a few loyal friends awaited their arrival. They’d chosen the dawn ceremony because the arrival of a new day seemed symbolic of the new life they were about to embark on. As one, they took a step forward. Ryan stopped abruptly, “Wait,” he said. “I almost forgot. Wait here.” He went to the table near the elevators and opened a large white box. He returned with two green bouquets and handed one to each of the women. “Four leaf clover,” he explained.

They entered to a chorus of appreciative ooh’s and ahh’s from their families. Captain Whittier welcomed the assemblage, then stood back. The two couples faced each other in the center of the room. As the sun rose over the horizon and bathed the room in blazing golden light, they recited the vows they’d painstakingly written over the previous month while they planned the ceremony, and made arrangements to assemble everyone in one place.

Ryan turned to Candace and took her hands in his. “Candace, I never believed in love at first sight, but from the moment I saw you, I knew you were special. Little did I know then, how special you would turn out to be. You gave me your heart, and saved me from the shipwreck I’d made of my life.” He paused as a low ripple of laughter circled the room. Candace smiled up at him, and with a slight squeeze to her hand, he continued. “I love you, and it came as no surprise to me that you found enough room in your heart for others. You are the most generous, caring person I know. A little over a year ago, I pledged you my life. Today, I renew that pledge, and ask that you take my hand and walk beside me into this new life we pledge today.”

A lone tear spilled down her cheek, and he brushed it away with his thumb. “I love you, Ryan. You are my love, my life. I renew my pledge to share my life with you, and I accept your invitation to walk hand in hand into this new life.”

Captain Whittier stepped forward and handed each of them a ring. Candace offered her left hand, and Ryan slipped the ring onto her finger next to the wedding band he’d placed there on their wedding day. “Candace, I offer you this token and symbol of our love, two bands, one gold, one platinum woven together to support two clover leaves. Will you accept my token?”

Candace looked into his eyes, and his heart flipped. The sweet “yes” from her lips almost brought him to his knees. She took his left hand in hers and repeated the same words to him. Ryan answered in the affirmative and watched solemnly as Candace slid a matching ring onto his finger. They hadn’t scripted it, but he couldn’t help himself. He framed her face in his palms and kissed her. Richard’s good-natured throat clearing told him he’d held it longer than necessary.

They broke apart, but stood hand in hand. Richard took Fallon’s hands in his. “What more can I say, Fallon. I love you more than my own life. I waited too long to claim you as mine, and then, when I did, you took me into your heart and your life, faults and all. Today, I renew my pledge to you, and ask you to join me in this new path our lives, and our love, leads us.”

Fallon shook with emotion as she returned Richard’s pledge. “Richard, I love you. You are my anchor in rough waters, and you have given me wings so I can soar when I must. All that I am, I pledge again to you, and I accept your invitation to walk this new path in life together.”

They exchanged identical two leaf clover rings, and amid more than a few cleared throats, sealed their vows. When at last they broke apart, they turned to Ryan and Candace.

Ryan spoke first. “Richard, chance brought us together as college roommates, but friendship bonded us as brothers. We’ve shared much in our lives, and now Candace and I ask you to join our family, to live with us as a brother to me, and as a husband to Candace.” He turned to Fallon. “Fallon, today Candace and I pledge you our everlasting love, and ask you to join our family as a wife to me, and a life partner to Candace.”

Captain Whittier stepped forward again, and Ryan accepted the rings he held out to him.

Ryan’s gaze shifted to include both Richard and Fallon. “Candace and I offer these rings as tokens of our love and our pledge to you. The intertwined bands symbolize the joining of our lives, and the two cloverleaves, joined with the two you all ready wear symbolize the commitment we make here. Will you accept these tokens of our love and commitment?”

Richard and Fallon answered as one, “Yes, we accept your love and your tokens.” Candace placed a ring on Richard’s finger, and Ryan placed one on Fallon’s, then Richard spoke.

“Ryan, I thank whatever power brought us together as young men. Friendship is our bond and you are the brother I never had. We have shared more than most blood brothers and today, Fallon and I ask you to join our family as a brother to me, and as a husband to Fallon.” He turned to Candace. “Candace, today Fallon and I pledge you our everlasting love. We ask you to join our family as a wife to me, and as a life partner to Fallon.” He took the rings from Captain Whittier and addressed Ryan and Candace together. “We offer these rings as tokens of our love and our pledge to you. The intertwined bands symbolize the joining of our lives, and the two cloverleaves, joined with the two you all ready wear symbolize the commitment we make here. Will you accept these tokens of our love and commitment?”

Ryan glanced at Candace, and in unison they answered, “Yes, we accept your love and your tokens.” Richard slipped the ring on Candace’s finger, completing the four-leaf clover. Fallon did the same for Ryan. They stood for a moment, their hands clasped together in the center.

Captain Whittier finally broke the spell. “Well, somebody kiss somebody so we can get to the partying!”

* * * * *

They shared perfunctory kisses amid applause and cheers, before they turned to their guests. The staff were all ready setting up the breakfast buffet along one wall, and waiters moved through the gathering with trays of mimosas, and coffee for the not so adventurous. The happy couples made the rounds, accepting congratulations and well wishes, and seeing that their guests were enjoying themselves.

Richard shook hands, kissed cheeks, and silently wished they would all go away. Every cell in his body yearned to be with Fallon and Candace, but consummating their new relationship would have to wait. The
Lothario
dropped anchor at the island as their guests dined and danced, and through the expanse of windows in the Prometheus Lounge, he kept tabs on the growing number of passengers dotting the beach. Most of their guests would leave the cruise here where arrangements had been made to return them to Miami.

Candace slipped into a chair next to his mother, and Richard’s heart lurched. His dad hadn’t said much, other than he couldn’t figure out why any man would want two wives. “Double the trouble,” was the way he’d put it, but his mother had voiced more than a few concerns about Richard’s life choices. He excused himself from his conversation with Sean as soon as he could, and made his way to Candace’s side. He stopped behind her chair and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Richie.” He winced at his mother’s use of his childhood nickname. “I’ve been having a lovely conversation with Candace.” Richard squeezed Candace’s shoulder more to reassure himself than her. “I can see why you fell for her. She’s lovely.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Wolfe,” Candace said. “Your son has a heart of gold, and I credit you and Mr. Wolfe for raising him to have such generous nature. I’m a fortunate woman to have him in my life.”

“Please, call me Beth.” She took Candace’s hand in hers. “We’re family now.”