Lily (Suitors of Seattle) (11 page)

Lily turned and smiled at her father.  Fred sucked in a breath.  “Beautiful.  Oh, Lily, how did you get so grown up?  You’re still supposed to be climbing trees in the backyard.”
 

“I climbed the tree out there just two weeks ago, Papa.  I’m still me.”
  Lily knew she had always had a special place in her father’s heart because she was so unlike what her mother thought she should be.  She was the closest thing he’d ever have to a son.

Fred laughed
the sound booming through the room.  “I’m so glad you’re not changing for him.  Daniel will be a good husband for you.  He’s a good man.”

Lily nodded.  “I know, Papa.”
  She just hoped he wasn’t angry with her anymore.  She felt terrible for the way she’d talked to him just days before.

“I was thrilled when he asked if he could court you.”

Lily smiled, her hand reaching for her papa’s arm.  “I was, too.  Don’t get all sentimental now.  I don’t want to cry on my wedding day.”  She’d done enough of that leading up to her wedding day.

Fred smiled.  “It’s hard to believe my girl who seems the toughest on the outside is the one who is so mushy on the inside.”
 

“Shhh…no one’s supposed to know that.”  They walked slowly down the stairs and to the back door.  She stopped in front of the door, startled that there were so many people.  “I said just family!”  There had to be fifty people there, which wasn’t a lot
compared to how many Rose had at her wedding, but more than she’d wanted.

Fred shook his head.  “Your mother has a different idea of what ‘just family’ means than you and I do.”

“Would it be terribly rude of me to run out there and tell people to leave before we start the wedding?” 

Fred chuckled.  “It would.”

She sighed heavily.  “I guess I won’t then.”  Iris opened the door and she and Fred walked slowly to the arch placed under the tree.  They’d not had to use a tent because of the clear day, so she was thrilled. 

Daniel stood, looking handsome in his black suit, watching her with eyes that were lit up.  He hadn’t been by since Christmas, and she’d been half afraid he wouldn’t come, but there he stood, waiting for her.  She walked to his side, and waited while her father put her hand in his. 

The ceremony was short and sweet, everyone wanting to get in out of the cold.  Her sisters each wore their favorite color, and she held a single lily as her wedding bouquet.  When it was time for Daniel to kiss her, he leaned down and brushed his lips across hers.  A soft promise of what was to come.  Lily clung to his arm as they walked back into the building, so happy to finally be his wife.

The reception was as different from Rose’s as could be.  She’d had hundreds of people swarming around the house and everyone had eaten and danced, spilling into the back garden, because they’d needed the room.  Her reception was just a few maids moving around between people, serving the sandwiches, and everyone drinking punch.  The voices were low and there was no raucous laughter.

Through it all, Daniel remained by her side.  He constantly touched her.  Sometimes, it was just his hand at the small of her back.  Sometimes his arm was around her shoulders.  She found herself leaning into him, thankful that he was there.  She hated being the center of attention, and that was the reason she’d wanted a smaller group of people invited to attend.  She would have been terribly overwhelmed if not for Daniel at her side.

They cut the cake and fed each other a bite while the people watched.  There were no people there she wouldn’t have invited if she’d thought of it, so that made her feel slightly better.  Everyone had known her since she was a small child, and she felt like they should be there. 

By the time Daniel took her hand and led her to his buggy out front, she was glad to go.  Sure, she was a little nervous about her wedding night, but more than anything she was excited about it.  She and Daniel would be able to touch each other, and it would be fine.

They were both quiet during the buggy ride back to his house, and he unlocked the door and let her in.  She hadn’t ever actually seen his home and was surprised to see how small it was.  She’d somehow expected a home like the one she’d grown up in, but she had no complaints.  He showed her around briefly, not that there was much to see.  There was a small parlor on the first floor as well as his study and dining room.  On the second floor were three bedrooms and a small bathroom with running water, which made her breathe a sigh of relief.  They’d had a real bathroom at home for some time, and she didn’t want to have to go back to using an outhouse.

The
last room he showed her was very obviously his bedroom.  There were two vases of lilies on the dresser, and she smiled up at him.  “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Making me feel welcome here.”  She took his hand and tugged him all the way into the room, closing the door behind him.  “Now wasn’t there something you said we could do once we were married?”

He laughed, his hands going to her shoulders to pull her against him.  “I think it might be time.”  His lips dropped to hers, kissing her frantically, while his hands roamed over her back, feeling the whale bone of the corset underneath her dress.  “Why are you wearing this contraption?  You don’t need it!”
  He hated that she’d put on a corset for their wedding.

She sighed.  “I know, but Mama said if I never wore one again in my life, I would wear one on my wedding day if it killed us both.  I lost the energy to fight.”
  She moved uncomfortably.  “It needs to come off soon.”

“How about we get it off you then?”  He used his hands to turn her around and unbutton the myriad of tiny buttons that started at her neckline and went all the way down to the base of her spine. 

“I feel like I haven’t been able to breathe for about six hours, so taking it off sounds like an absolutely brilliant idea to me.”  She stood still while he carefully undid each button. 

“If we ever get married again, you need to have a dress with bigger buttons that are easier to undo.  And fewer of them.  By the time I’ve got these unbuttoned, we’re both going to be so tired, we’re not going to be able to make love.”
 

She laughed.  “I think we’ll manage.”

“Maybe we will.”  He finished the last button, and pushed her dress off her shoulders, his hands then going to her corset strings.  He untied her and pushed the garment down over her hips.  “There.”

She took a deep breath, her hands going to her sides to rub them where the corset had chafed her
skin.  “I probably should have worn a corset for a few days before in preparation, but I just couldn’t torture myself that much.”

He dropped a kiss to the side of her neck, smiling against her skin.  “That’s my girl.  I’m so glad you don’t pay attention to what people think you should do, and just do what feels right to you instead.  So much better.” 

She smiled, tilting her head to the side to give him better access.  “I think so, too.  I hope you always feel that way about my boyish tendencies.”  She worried that he would change his mind any minute.

“How could I not when you’re perfect just the way you are
?” 

She turned in his arms, refusing to be a passive participant in their lovemaking.  “I’m so excited that we get to do this together.”
  She grinned up at him, showing him all the delight she felt at the idea of making love.

He grinned at her.  “You’re supposed to pretend to be shy about it all.”
  How could he tell her that he was delighted she wasn’t acting like she was afraid she’d break if he touched her with passion?

She made a face.  “Oh well.  This is where you remember that you l
ike the way I flaunt society’s rules.  You just like me for who I am and go on.”

He laughed.  “Oh, I love that you’re eager.”  His face became serious for a moment.  “You know it will hurt the first time, right?”
  He was concerned he’d led her to believe it would only be pleasure.

She shrugged.  “I’ve felt pain before.  I’m ready for it to feel glorious the second time.”
 

He grinned, his mouth taking hers in a ravenous kiss.  How could any man have not fallen in love with Lily the moment they met her?
 
He’d been blind, but he was so glad he’d seen the special woman she was before it was too late.

Her hands pushed his suit jacket off his shoulders, letting it fall to the floor.  His shirt was next.  She carefully unbuttoned every button and pushed it off his shoulders and to the floor.  Her hands went to the waist of his pants and she attacked the buttons quickly and efficiently, pushing his pants and his under drawers from his body.  Her eyes went immediately to his erection and she clutched it in her hand.  “Wow,” she whispered.

He laughed, sounding choked.  “Wow?  What does that mean?”  Of all the things he’d expected her to say upon seeing him this way that was the last. 

“It’s different than I expected.”  She stroked her hand over it, her thumb finding the tip and brushing over it. 
She was surprised by how it felt, as if velvet had been placed over solid iron.

He nodded, finally catching her hand.  “If you keep that up, we’re not going to be able to make love.”

Her eyes stared into his innocently.  “Why?”  She wanted to understand everything about how this worked.

His hands quickly tugged her petticoats over her head and dropped them to the floor before he picked her up and carried her to the bed.  She was a tall woman, but slender, so lifting her was no hardship.  He laid her gently on the bed, before following her down, kissing her shoulders.  He ignored her question not certain how to answer it.  He didn’t want to get into the complexities of the male body with her right before they made love.

His hands stroked up and down her body, his mouth latching onto her nipple.  He moved his right knee between her legs, sliding it up to her center and pressing there.  She groaned, rolling her head back and forth as she stared down at him kissing her that way.  Her hands wove into his think dark hair, stroking him.  Why was he kissing her and not pushing inside her like her mother had said he’d do?

His hand replaced his knee and he lifted his head to watch her face as he slowly slid a finger inside her damp warmth.  H
e watched her carefully searching for any sign of pain, but she was arching her hips toward him, moaning softly.  After a moment, he added a second finger, sliding it slowly in and out of her heat.  When she showed no signs of pain, he moved between her spread legs, pressing his hard member against her opening.

She let out a quick gasp of pain as he slid inside her, her fingers clutching his shoulders, digging her nails in.  He stilled for a moment, watching her.  “I’m sorry.”

She shook her head.  “No, it has to be this way.  You warned me.”  She moved a bit flexing her hips to see if the pain had receded.  The accompanying pleasure that shot through her startled her.  “It’s better now.”

He pulled out and moved back into her experimentally, not wanting to hurt her, yet aching to finish.  At her gasp of pleasure, he smiled, and began moving in earnest, his lips fastening to hers.

Lily moaned against his lips.  Rose had been right.  This was glorious.  She loved the way he felt moving in and out of her.  She felt like something was happening, but she wasn’t sure what.  A pressure was building deep inside her that he seemed to be striving toward.  Finally, she clutched his shoulders as something broke inside her.  She let out a half scream against his lips and he moved into her a few more times, before collapsing atop her.

She wrapped her arms around him and held him close, enjoying the feel of his sweaty back against her palms.  He propped himself up on his hands, trying to take some of his weight from her.  He started to roll off, but she held him close. 

“I’m too heavy,” he protested. He didn’t want to hurt her any more than he already had.

“No, you feel good.  It feels right to have you against me like this.”  She pressed her lips against his.  “I liked that.”

He laughed.  “I liked it, too.  We’ll do it a lot.”

“Like every week?  Every month?”
  What was a lot for this sort of thing?  She had no idea.

He grinned.  “Twice a night if I have my way.”

“We can?  It’s okay?”  Would they really get to feel this good that often?  Or was he joking with her?

“We’re married.”  He kissed her, his tongue tangling with hers.  “We’ll do it as much as you’d like.”

“Mmmmm…” 

He rolled to her side, pulling her head to pillow on his chest.  “I missed you this week.  All I could think about was kissing you and holding you close.”
  His hands stroked up and down her back.  “And I kept wondering what it would be like to be inside you.”

She smiled against his shoulder.  “I like that.”  She ran her fingers through the light thatch of hair that covered his chest.  “I’m glad we’re married now and can be together anytime we want.”

“Me too.”  His hands stroked through her hair, which was still piled high.  He pulled the pins out and made a small pile of them on the table beside the bed.  “You’re perfect.”

She let out a short laugh.  “My mother would be happy to debate that point with you.”
  She kissed his shoulder.