Having Faith (30 page)

Despite his size, there was none of the pain she’d expected, none of the discomfort she’d felt the one and only time she’d ever had sex.  On the contrary, this was the most wonderful thing she’d ever felt.  Kieran’s big, hot body held over hers, the feel of all that hard muscle and silk beneath her fingertips.  His thickness lodged snugly in the very core of her, filling her, heating her, joining them, making them one.  It went far beyond the physical.  As she stared into his eyes, she understood what he had been trying to tell her all along.  It was not only their bodies that were now connected, it was their very essences. 

Faith and Kieran.  Kieran and Faith.  No longer two separate entities, but
One
.

* * *

E
ven though he wasn’t moving, she was.  Her internal muscles were working his cock, flexing and rippling against his intrusion.  After a few minutes, he realized that she could make him come by that alone.  Maybe he’d test that theory one day, but today he wanted his first climax inside Faith to include hers as well.

With that specific goal in mind, he began moving inside her.  Extracting himself, then pushing forward, penetrating her again and again.  What started as slow, thorough strokes soon became faster, shallower, as they both did nothing to fight the apex coming fast and hard.  Kieran buried his face in her neck and pistoned his hips, heeding her breathy but near silent moans for more.  Some part of him worried that he would hurt her if he let himself go, but then another part reminded him that she was his
croie
, and that she had been fashioned for him, just as he had been for her.

He felt her sheath clenching his cock even as his balls tightened and the seed rose in his shaft.  She was almost there, and he was going to come so fucking hard...

He thrust once, twice, three more times until Faith opened her mouth in a silent scream.  Kieran was right there with her, his body tense and stiff as he began to fill her.  He pushed harder, settling himself deeper, shooting right into the entrance of her womb.

She held him close to her, milking his body with hers, demanding everything.  He reveled in the feel of his liquid heat scorching her insides with every powerful pulse.  He was powerless to do anything but give it to her.

An eternity later, he rolled to the side, taking Faith with him.  Still joined, they passed out in each other’s arms.

It was the first of several times they would do so that night.

* * *

I
t was hard to drag themselves out of bed the next morning, but the sound of Matt very deliberately banging around the living area and the smell of coffee proved to be adequate motivators.  Faith had trouble looking her son in the eye at first, but Kieran had no such compunction.

Sean was beaming from ear to ear when they met him at the private airport.  He spotted the ring on Faith’s hand right away and hugged her, saying he was glad to be the first to officially welcome them into the clan.

The plane ride home was more pleasant than the ride down.  Sean let Matt sit up front in the cockpit with him, which, according to Matt, was “beyond sick.”  Faith felt none of the unease she had on the commercial flight, but she wasn’t sure if it was because of Sean’s mad skills or because nearly all of her attention was focused on the impossibly perfect man she now found herself engaged to marry.

Kieran started moving some of his things into Faith’s cottage as soon as they got back.  One night, he said, had only made him realize he never wanted to sleep alone again.  Matt, surprisingly, was accepting, though he did manage to let Kieran know it was only because they were getting married right away.

Less than a month was not a lot of time to plan a wedding, but the Callaghans rose to the challenge.  Apparently Taryn, Lexi, Maggie, Nicki, Rebecca, and Lacie had been mentally planning the event since mid-summer (after the infamous county fair incident), and already had most of the details worked out.  It had been relatively easy, they said, since both Faith and Kieran were very much alike in preferring the simpler things, neither one being prone to lavish or extravagant tastes.

Christmas was a blur.  A near foot of powder painted everything in glistening white.  The Callaghan men – much less concerned with the myriad of details involved in pulling together a last-minute wedding, made sure that Matt got the full benefit of experiencing his first NEPA winter wonderland.  They took him skiing and snowboarding and snowmobiling over the mountains.  Sean even let Matt ride along in the big plow truck, much to Matt’s great delight.

Faith was shielded from much of the details, a fact she was secretly happy for but felt slightly guilty about.  It became clear very early on that it would take time for Faith to adjust to the skills and resources of their clan, and accepting so much help was proving a hard thing for her to do. 

Kieran did his part by attempting to distract her at every opportunity, but letting others do for her after so many years of doing for herself took a lot of effort on her part.  After nearly hyperventilating when she caught sight of the pricelist for various wedding items, they decided it was better for everyone involved to just tell her where to be and when.  That worked for her.

They broke up into teams.  Maggie and Lacie took Faith for her gown (a classic and simple candlelight white with a fitted bodice, modestly full skirt and train, and off-the-shoulder long sleeves) and all the necessary accessories (shoes, purse, veil, and bustle).  They handled the flower arrangements, too, selecting colors that best complimented the bride, but tried to stick to a wintry theme with deep cranberries, forest greens, and pale, shimmery silvers. 

Lexi and Aidan naturally assumed control of the reception arrangements.  They reserved a private ballroom at the Goddess – one with an entire wall boasting a spectacular view of the valley in its snowy splendor.  They planned the custom menu and had their professional decorators make sure everything was picture-perfect.

Taryn, Nicki, and Rebecca threw together one hell of a bachelorette party, and were ultimately in charge of the extra-special tradition among the Callaghan women that had Kieran shackled to a bed in his room at the Pub and Faith arriving in nothing but sheer veils via a dumbwaiter.  It was the special gift offered from one
croie
(or several
croies
, as the case was) to another:  a night of total sexual domination over her alpha male.  It was a tradition and gift Faith embraced heartily.

The wedding was a simple but breathtaking candlelight ceremony, held in the church in Pine Ridge.  Kieran and Faith exchanged vows before the entire Callaghan and Connelly clans.  Matt gave his mother away, then proudly took his seat next to the stunning blonde in the first pew.

F
aith sank into the chair, rubbing her feet discreetly beneath the table, feeling deliriously happy, but exhausted.  She couldn’t remember the last time she had felt this worn out.  Granted, the last few weeks had been a whirlwind of activity, and her nights with Kieran left her a bit sleep deprived.  And last night’s stint as a Domme – the one night when she might have been able to sleep soundly for more than a few hours – had her running on fumes.  It was only adrenaline keeping her going now, and she feared even that wasn’t going to last much longer.

Thank goodness Rebecca’s gift to her had been a pair of cloud-soft satin slippers that matched her gown.  She never would have made it through the last few hours without them; tradition required that the bride dance with each and every one of the Callaghan and Connelly males.  It was a rite of passage that every new bride was expected to take, though it had the obvious benefit of annoying the groom as well. 

Poor Kieran had been trying to get to her for the last hour, but was foiled by several well-executed defensive maneuvers.  When Faith expressed concern, Ian laughed and told her that she should not feel sorry for him, given that he had gladly partaken in the tradition when it was everyone else’s bride involved.

“Congratulations, Faith.”

She looked up into the slightly exotic golden eyes of Aidan Harrison.  He was every bit as imposing close up as he was from a distance, and Faith could not help but feel a little nervous.  Even as she had tried to embrace and become accustomed to her new lifestyle – which included the financial security of the Callaghan family - she was unused to being in direct contact with someone as wealthy and important as the CEO of the Celtic Goddess. 

Technically, she was rather well-off herself now, too.  Nathan dropped his challenge of Ethan’s bequeathal after their visit to Georgia, but her mind was still having trouble adjusting to that.  All she knew was that Shane was handling the legal aspects and Kane was already creating a financial portfolio.

She forgot about all of that in the presence of the powerful man next to her.  Her falling adrenaline levels made a valiant rally to at least appear relatively coherent.

“Thank you,” she said, feeling the words woefully inadequate.  She still hadn’t been able to wrap her mind around the fact that all of this had been done for her wedding.  “Everything is beyond perfect.”

He grinned easily, pleased, as if he was a regular guy and not the wealthiest man she’d ever met.  “Mind if I sit for a moment?”

“Of course not.  You do own the place, don’t you?”  Faith immediately lifted her hand up to her mouth, mortified that she had allowed the words in her head to be spoken aloud.  She had a sneaking suspicion that the last drink someone had placed in her hand was made by Brian McCain, the devil. 

Aidan’s eyes glittered with amusement.  “So I do.” 

Faith sipped her drink and sighed.  Yep.  If she hadn’t been so distracted she would have recognized the signature taste of a Brian McCain special, a.k.a, the potent Virgin Slayer.  She glanced over toward the bar, and Brian gave her a big smile and a friendly salute.  It was impossible to be annoyed with him, but she really wanted to be.

“You also work for me, I believe,” Aidan was saying, snapping her attention back to him.  Faith immediately sobered, wondering where this was heading. 

“Yes, sir.  I do.”

“Call me Aidan.  Environmental, right?”  She nodded warily, wondering where this was going.

“Well, I think we need to talk about that.”

“Sir?”  Was he firing her?

“Aidan,” he corrected patiently.  He extracted a familiar-looking tablet and placed it on the table between them.  Faith froze as she realized she was looking at one of her sketchbooks.  “These are yours?”

Faith nodded, feeling the numbness seeping through her limbs.

“You have talent, Faith.  May I call you Faith?  ‘Mrs. Callaghan’ applies to more than half the women in this room.”

She nodded again, dumbstruck. 
She was on a first name basis with Aidan Harrison
.  Add that to the fact that she was in the middle of a fairy tale wedding and now married to her soul mate, and she felt downright stupefied. 

She took another sip of the Virgin Slayer and fought the urge to giggle at the improbability of it all.  If she saw a dancing unicorn, she was soooo going to go lay down in the ladies room.  Actually, she might just do that anyway.  Just five minutes, maybe ten, to recharge and she’d be good as new.

“Well, Faith, I love your ideas.  I’d like to hire you to re-design the interiors of the latest set of luxury suites.”

She gawked at him.  Not quite a dancing unicorn.  But close.

“It’ll be a bit different than what you’re used to.  You’ll have an office on the same floor with Lex and me, well, more of a design studio, really.  You’d design exclusively for the Goddess.  You’ll be expected to attend meetings and travel to the Corporate headquarters in Georgia with us from time to time.  I think once they see your ideas we’ll be renovating all of the Goddesses, and perhaps some of our other chains as well.”

Faith was glad she was sitting down, because otherwise she was certain she’d be slumped on the floor.  That feeling only intensified when Aidan started throwing out mind-numbing possible starting salaries and signing bonuses and stock options.

“Aidan, you’re not talking business at our wedding are you?” Kieran chastised, joining them at the table.  He leaned down and kissed his bride.  She gripped his hand.  Hard.

“Just wanted to put my bid in before you left on your honeymoon,” he said, offering Faith a wink.  “I see Johnny over there chomping at the bit.  Think about it, okay?”

She nodded numbly.

“Baby?  You okay?”  His eyes grew concerned when he saw her weak smile.  Out of the corner of her left eye, she saw him signaling for someone. 

Somehow she managed to relate what Aidan had told her, though she thought she might have messed up a few of the words along the way between her mind and her mouth.  She was just so tired.  And maybe just a bit in the grips of shock.

“Faith?”  Michael’s soothing voice registered about the same time she realized his long, warm fingers were discreetly checking her pulse.  “How are you holding up, sweetheart?”

“I’m tired,” she breathed.  “Really, really tired.” 

Michael exchanged a glance with Kieran, who had lifted up Faith’s barely-touched drink and sniffed it suspiciously before shooting Brian a scathing glance.   

“Would you like to lay down for a little bit?”

“Oh, yes, please,” she said, her voice growing dreamy.  To Kieran, she offered a smile.  “Your brother’s really nice.”

“Yeah, he’s a prince.  Come on, baby.  Put your arm around me.  There you go.”  Kieran lifted his bride into his arms.

“Hey, is she okay?”  Maggie asked, joining them.

“I’m just tired,” Faith said sleepily.  “I’m sorry.”

“Let’s get her up to Lex’s office,” Michael said quietly.  “I’ll grab my bag and meet you there in five.”

* * *

“W
ell?”

“She’s fine,” Michael said confidently. 

“Are you sure?” Kieran asked, looking worriedly to where Faith was sleeping soundly on the sofa in Lexi’s office, covered with Michael’s tux jacket.

“Yes,” Michael said, his eyes twinkling.  “Quite sure.”