The Winter of Regrets (2 page)

Dee wiped her face with a tissue the saleslady had given her. “Margo doesn’t know I’m marrying into a wealthy family. I doubt my dad told her much about my life here. It isn’t like I’m important to him. The only use I have for him is to tie the two clubs together. I wonder how he felt when Margo had a daughter. The only use for that girl will be the same as me; if Whiskey can use her to his advantage, he will. The club comes first.”

“Always,” agreed Kima tiredly.

“Silly Margo was so positive she was having a son,” Dee went on. “I feel sorry for the baby and hope she’s able to love it. She’s one of the vilest women I’ve ever met. Nothing like my sweet mother was.”

Kima kept rubbing Dee’s back, listening in silence.

“I still wonder why my dad fell for her. Margo will come and she will be mean to me and my dad won’t notice or say a damn thing to her. Other women used to tell her to back off and she gave them hell. Kima, I love Jack but I hate this whole wedding reception idea. Your wedding is supposed to be your dream and, well, so far this is a damn nightmare.”

Kima didn’t know what to say to Deidra. She was trying to picture how this would play out with her family if Dee was taunted at her wedding by some biker bitch and she didn’t think her family who adored Deidra would put up with it. If that happened, it would probably turn into one big cluster fuck. An Irish/Russian cluster fuck with bikers from a few MC clubs present would be dangerous to say the least.

“Did you tell my brother about any of this?” Kima finally asked. “My family isn’t going to like Margo. I can tell you that from what you’ve said about her. My mom needs to know so she can seat her far away from you. We’ll work on this Dee, I promise.” She offered a hand, then pulled Dee to her feet. “Now, do you want to look at more dresses? We don’t have that much time since my brother pushed the wedding date up. I need a dress. Willie, Teddy, and Dusty need dresses, as well as little Melora. Why don’t we see what they have in stock?” She noted the weariness in Dee’s face, then added, “Or we can plan another day and ask the girls to come with us.”

Dee appreciated the offer. “Yes,” she agreed, giving Kima a teary smile. “I’d like to look a bit more. If I can’t find a dress here, we’ll make a day of it and go to another bridal shop with the girls. Thank you for understanding, Kima. I was scared to tell anyone. I hate to be a bother to all of you.”

“You’re not a bother, ever! I’m glad you finally told me. I’ll talk to my mother and Veiko. Maybe he can figure out some way to talk to your father. You go on and get dressed. I’ll be sitting with Jo.” With that, Kima left Dee to dress in peace.

J
o was yawning when Kima sat down heavily beside her. “Did you get anywhere with Dee?” she asked Kima. “My heartburn’s killing me and I can’t get comfortable. I need to go home.”

“Not now,” she said back. “I’ll tell you later, but yes, I found out the problem. She misses her mother and is scared the stepmother’s going to ruin the wedding. That’s the short version. We’ll talk later on the phone.” Kima noticed how pale Jo looked and suddenly found herself glad she wasn’t pregnant.

Dee walked out and spoke to the saleswoman who brought her over to an area they hadn’t looked at yet. Kima and Jo were too tired to get up to see the wedding dresses. They noticed Dee shaking her head at a few, but she took two more dresses into the dressing room.

Shortly after, the saleswoman came over to speak to them. “She doesn’t want to spend too much money,” she explained. “There’s one dress she fell in love with and I think it would be perfect for her, but she complained it cost too much.”

With her eyes closed, Jo replied, “Switch the tags to a cheaper dress and say it was a mistake. We don’t care what it costs. We want her to love the dress.”

The saleslady eyed Kima questioningly. She seemed to agree. “My mother would tell you the same thing and you know it, Nora. How many dresses did Shelly buy from here? Just tell her it was a mistake and my mother will be in to take care of it.”

Nora replied, “The dress has a velvet cape, which is extra. Deidra didn’t see that. Should I show it to her?”

Both Kima and Jo both answered, “Yes!”

Neither of the wedding dresses were the one, and the other saleslady came out with a frown. Nora walked over with the dress Dee had frowned at and the long velvet cape draped over her arm. The two women whispered together before both went back to the dressing room.

Within five minutes, Deidra was walking toward the dais with the many mirrors. Jo and Kima sat up and looked at Dee, smiling. The dress was beautiful and had long draping lace sleeves with silver trim. The neckline was a deep V and the dress was covered in shimmering crystals that were scattered as if a fairy had waved a wand over it. Deidre looked like a princess, turning to show them the corset back.

When Nora placed the hooded cape on her shoulders, both Kima and Jo sighed. Deidra was getting that dress no matter what. The length was perfect with the silver low-heeled pumps she was wearing.

Kima stood up. “That’s the one Dee! You’re getting it, no arguing!”

Dee kept turning, looking in the mirrors. “Think Jack will like it?”

Jo laughed. “Jack wants what is
under
the dress! Of course he’ll like it. Now, can we please pick out the bridesmaids’ dresses? This heartburn’s killing me.”

Kima headed over to look at the bridesmaid dresses while Dee changed back into her clothes. It was to be a fall wedding and she hoped that Dee would not pick any orange dresses. Willie would need a different color dress and Kima wished her mother were there to help with all of this. Jo didn’t have to be in the wedding since she was pregnant. She pushed at the dresses until she saw a beautiful shade of moss green. The dress was also a V-neck and she admired it as she held it against herself.

Dee walked over. “Oh, I love that color! Go try it on, and I’ll look for a dress for Willie. I think, in honor of my mother, I’m going to wear one of Willie’s fairy wing pendants. It will have the color blue and be new; I just need something old now.”

She began to search through the dresses until she found the same one in a slightly paler color. She handed the dress to Nora and began to look at the flower girl dresses. Little Melora was going to make the perfect flower girl and Dee wanted her dress to be special. Nora handed her a dress that was adorable. It would come right to Melora’s ankles and it had some shimmering crystals on it too.

It was finally over. Picking out the dresses was hard work! She sat next to Jo and waited for Kima to step out of the dressing room.

As Kima walked to the dais, Jo clapped. “Kima, it’s
lovely
and you could wear that again … if there’s anywhere to wear it to. I don’t see Veiko taking you to the country club. I don’t think the clubhouse has fancy dress-up night yet.”

Kima looked down at Jo and snottily replied, “It’s a good thing you aren’t in the wedding because we’d have to dress you in
orange
, and it isn’t flattering with that red hair of yours. You’d look like a pumpkin. Remind me to tell mom; we need to find something old for Dee. She has the rest covered.”

Dee sensed the adopted sisters were tired and cranky and she wanted to go home. Kima went to change into her clothes and Dee made a date to bring the other three girls back to try on their dresses.

Later, after dropping off the other ladies at their houses, Dee made it home and breathed a sigh of relief. She decided to walk down near the water so she could think a bit about this wedding and the way her life was changing. A small white feather blew down by her feet. At first, she imagined it might be a snowflake; it was that tiny. The wind picked it up and swirled it away again. She smiled and kept walking, knowing that in her heart she had picked the dress that her mother would have loved.

With the upcoming wedding, she had decided against college. Willie had talked her into opening W and D, Art by the Sea, a small specialty shop that sold things they made. It felt right, and Willie was teaching her how to use a potter’s wheel and other ways to make beautiful things she had never known she could make. A part of her felt free like she was when she was a child. Willie said it was liberating to pound clay, make it into something useful or pretty, and to let your feelings out in painting. Deidra loved that feeling of being free from all the bullshit of her former life. She was not the scared girl she had been when she had told Mad Jack she wanted to wait for her wedding night. It was taking a toll on him and he was often sleeping on the couch in their huge room.

Tonight after her bath, she planned to fix that.

T
his wedding shit had Mad Jack’s nerves wearing thin. He hung out with Thorn a lot lately, who’d help him work on the house. Jack wasn’t really a builder, but he wanted to be able to say he’d helped build his house. He realized a hot shower was just what he needed. He headed to the bathroom, tossing boots and clothing behind him. He let the shower steam up the bathroom before he stepped under the water.

He had his eyes shut as the water poured down on his body. All of a sudden, a pair of arms wrapped around him.

“Jack,” Deidra whispered. “I don’t want to wait anymore. I don’t want to wake up and not feel you next to me.”

He blinked water out of his eyes. “Are you really sure, Dee? We’ve made it this far.”

Grabbing his cock in her hand, Dee remarked, “
He’s
sure hard, and if you touch me, I think you’ll find I’m ready and willing.” She rubbed against his wet body suggestively.

That was all it took. Mad Jack Regan pushed Dee against the tile wall as his fingers found her nipples and stroked them. When Dee began to quiver, Jack leaned in to kiss her as his fingers traveled down her body. Finding her clit, he began to rub it gently as she shook in his arms.

“Let’s take this to the bed, Dee. I want this to be really good for you.”

Jack pulled her from the steamy shower and grabbed a towel. Water dripped from his body as he wiped Dee dry. She, in turn, dried him off and knelt down to dry his legs. Mad Jack’s cock brushed against her face and she opened her mouth to invite it in.

“Dee,” Jack breathed in shock. “You sure you wanna do this?”

She tongued his cock a bit before replying. “Jack, I said I never had sex. I didn’t say I didn’t know how to suck cock.” Her mouth went back over his cock as she ran her tongue down his length and her fingers tickled his balls. Her nails drew a trail of pleasure as she tickled and ran them up his hard cock.

Jack had to pull away from her to get them on to the bed. His Deidra never ceased to amaze him. Oddly, it didn’t bother him she wasn’t totally innocent.

Dee laid naked on the bed, her blonde hair a wet mess and her lips pouty from sucking him. He had loved what her mouth did to his cock and Dee knew it, the little witch! He lay down beside her and kissed her, his hand snaking down her body until he found what he was seeking. Dee moaned into his mouth as his finger entered her. She was dripping wet and he pumped his finger in and out, making her even wetter.

When Jack was sure she was wet and aching for him, he rolled on top of her and looked deep into her eyes. “Last chance, Dee. Are you sure?”

“I want it. Just do it fast. If it’s going to hurt, I want it over with fast.” Dee’s breath was burning against his ear.

Jack did just as she asked and thrust quickly until he was fully inside of her. He looked to see if she was crying, but found her smiling instead.