Enlightened (4 page)

Tipping her chin up I dropped one final firm kiss on her lips and then leant round to nuzzle her ear, now intent on some teasing of my own. ‘Just wait until we get to our room, Rebecca, I’ll make you pay for that little tease.’ My soft endearment and affectionate nuzzling must have briefly disguised my dark intent, because it took a second or so until Rebecca gasped and leant back with wide eyes as she bit down on her lower lip expectantly. ‘I’m going to get you so desperate for release that you’ll beg me to let you come,’ I added, my breath hot on her neck as I decided that I rather liked the idea of Rebecca begging and screaming my name in the elegant setting of this hotel.

Just to keep her on her toes I then completely changed tack and pulled back as if our lusty encounter had never occurred. ‘This room can seat fifty for the ceremony, I know that’s probably a little smaller than you were hoping for, but seeing as I have barely anyone I want to invite on my side it should help keep numbers down. Plus they have a larger room for the evening do so we can invite more to that.’ I watched in amusement as Rebecca attempted to reconnect her scrambled brain and get over her arousal to focus back on wedding plans.

Swallowing several times she let out a shaky breath, smiled at me ruefully, and then nodded. ‘Fifty is fine. I know you don’t like the spotlight, so I was also thinking we’d keep it small.’ Spinning on the spot she looked up at me with a tiny frown forming on her brows. ‘This place is just perfect, I love it, Nicholas, but the chances of it being free in March are pretty slim,’ she murmured, sounding dejected. ‘That’s less than six months away, I bet this place gets booked years in advance.’

‘It’s already ours,’ I murmured, trying not to sound too smug and failing miserably.

This time her face flew up to mine so quickly I was surprised she hadn’t hurt her neck. ‘What?’

Rolling my lips I prepared for my confession. ‘I actually made a reservation the week after I proposed.’ Now it was my turn to look contrite. ‘I didn’t tell you then because I was worried you might think I was rushing things. I came to this place years ago to play at a wedding, they have a beautiful music room just along that corridor,’ I added, indicating in a direction we hadn’t explored yet. ‘As soon as you agreed to marry me I thought of this place. I know how much you love the Lake District and seeing as most of your family are up this way it seemed perfect.’

Shaking her head I watched as more tears formed in Rebecca’s eyes as she gazed up at me. ‘I’m speechless,’ she snuffled, swiping the back of her hand over her eyes again in a pointless gesture as more tears immediately seeped down her cheeks.

‘I love you,’ she mumbled shortly before burying her head in my jacket and slipping her arms around my waist. Cuddling her to me I ran a hand up and down Becky’s spine as my eyebrows rose in surprise – I’d thought she would be upset that I’d booked it without consulting her first, but thankfully that didn’t seem to be an issue at all.

‘So what date do we have it? Saturday the twenty-ninth of March like we’d planned?’ she asked, excitement now replacing her tears as she stepped away from me with drier eyes and started to lightly bounce on the balls of her feet.

Hoping she wasn’t going to take my next statement as an over-the-top gesture I shrugged slightly awkwardly, ‘I booked the whole weekend. Friday night to Monday morning.’

Rebecca ceased her bouncing and paused to gawk up at me with several long, slow blinks of her beautiful green eyes. ‘What do you mean you booked the whole weekend?’ Her voice was a mere whisper, as if she already knew the answer to her question but needed me to clarify it anyway.

Here it comes
, I thought, bracing myself. ‘I booked out the whole hotel for the entire weekend from the evening of the 28
^th
to the morning of the 31
^st
.’ Taking the chance of her stunned silence I put on my most boyish face and raised my eyebrows. ‘Please don’t be mad. I just want everything to be perfect for you – for
us
,’ I corrected quickly, ‘and they don’t cater for evening functions here unless the whole hotel is booked out privately.’

My beautiful girl was obviously stunned into silence because she just continued to stare at me as if I had suddenly grown two heads. Jumping into the lull in conversation I gently took hold of her shoulders and spun her around so she was facing into the room again. ‘See the balconies that overlook the room?’ I asked softly, and in response I felt a small nod of her head. ‘Well, I was thinking that if your sister was up to the journey she’d be able to sit up there and watch the ceremony.’ Feeling a small, sobbing shudder run through Rebecca’s body I quickly persevered, ‘I know that since the … accident … Joanne hates crowds, but I’m sure she’d also hate to miss your big day, if we got it set up so she was away from the other guests and was just sat quietly with your mum, or maybe her nurse, then she could still feel part of our big day. What do you think?’

Spinning in my embrace I once again found myself wrapped up in Becky as her arms slid around my shoulders and she tucked her sniffling face into the crook of my neck. ‘You’ve thought of everything, Nicholas. I’m not going to moan at you about how stupidly extravagant you’ve been, because it’s all just perfect. Thank you. I love you so much.’

‘Not as much as I love you,’ I said with a smile, using our standard reply and making Becky flash a big watery smile in the process.

‘Do you think we can check in to our room now? Because I must look totally hideous,’ she joked, wiping at her reddened nose again. Admittedly she did look a little tear-stained, damp, and ruffled, but she was still my gorgeous girl, and so with a final squeeze I released her and led her back towards the reception.

Rebecca

I was still in a bit of a daze as we made our way back towards the main entrance. The beautiful paintings and exquisite art that had held my attention earlier were now just a blur beside me. Nicholas had booked this amazing place for our wedding … I could hardly absorb it, talk about a bombshell! Not only that, but Nicholas’ plans for how Joanne could be included were just so considerate – he knew how important my sister was to me, and for him to actually work out how she could be involved was incredibly touching.

When the reception hall finally came into view I saw to my horror that not only was the young receptionist waiting for our return, but that she had also been joined by two smartly suited men. Great, more spectators to witness my blotchy face and red nose. I shook my head with an amused roll of my eyes and straightened my back. There was very little I could do about it now, so making sure that I at least had a smile on my face I turned to them and found three expectant faces.

‘You have yourselves a confirmed booking,’ Nicholas said happily as he gave my hand a squeeze. Glancing up at him I saw uncharacteristic openness on his face as he shook hands with one of the two men. He was practically grinning, his eyes were crinkled at the corners with happiness in an expression that even
I
only saw on rare occasions, let alone anyone else. Seeing him so thrilled about our upcoming marriage I felt my heart fall just a little harder for my complex man.

‘You must be Mr Jackson and Miss Langley,’ the taller man said, stepping forwards to shake my hand as well. ‘It’s a pleasure to finally meet you in person. I’m Paul, the hotel manager, and this is James, he’s our master of ceremonies and will be overseeing your big day.’ James was younger than Paul, but had an air of command about him that would no doubt make him perfect for the job.

‘I was thinking that while you are here you might want to meet with James or myself to discuss further arrangements? How about we get you checked in and then after you’ve rested and freshened up we could meet before dinner?’

‘Sounds good,’ I said with a nod. ‘I got a bit emotional when Nicholas told me he had booked this place so I could do with sorting my face out,’ I remarked with a grin. At least now they knew why I looked such a state. To our right the receptionist was busy laying out a sheet of paper and our room key with a sympathetic smile. ‘Why is it us women cry when we’re happy?’ she remarked, ‘I’ll never understand it!’ she added with a friendly, supportive grin.

Once we were checked in Paul insisted on seeing us to our room, but to my surprise after he picked up my weekend bag he headed out of the main door, and not up the staircase as I had expected. Flashing a confused glance at Nicholas I saw him suppressing a smile as he placed a hand on my lower back and guided me after Paul down the front steps in the direction of the lake. ‘We’re not staying in the main building,’ Nicholas commented mysteriously.

Following a path through the beautiful gardens I realised that we were in fact headed to an elegant stone house sat at the water’s edge. Leaning down close to my ear Nicholas finally filled me in, ‘This is the Lake House, it has eight rooms, all with lake views.’

Wow. The surprises just kept coming, didn’t they! ‘I’ve just booked one room for this stay, but during our wedding weekend I thought that we could have the rooms on the top floor for just us, and that the rooms on the lower floor could be used for your parents, sister, and her nurse. That way Jo can have privacy if she needs it.’

As I continued to stare at the gently lapping water of the lake behind this stunning house I felt a trembling start in my lower lip and I had to work really hard not to burst into tears.
Again
. I was so overwhelmed by all the thought Nicholas had put into this that I hardly knew what to say, or how to express my immense happiness and gratitude. I hardly believed that all this had been arranged by a man who less than a year and a half ago had declared that he wasn’t sure he was capable of sustaining a real relationship. Shaking my head at the enormous changes that I’d witnessed in Nicholas Jackson during our time together, I licked my lips and drew in a deep, fortifying breath that helped keep my tears at bay before I turned to him.

‘You are an amazing man,’ I whispered. My words were such an understatement for the gratitude I felt, but I was so lost for what else to say, so instead I slipped my arms around his neck and pulled his face down to mine for a kiss that might better express how much I appreciated his incredible gestures. Running my tongue along the seam of his lips, he immediately granted me access with a low growl before our tongues began twirling and rubbing across each other, exploring and arousing and quickly making things rather heated.

A polite cough behind us had me pulling away from Nicholas with an embarrassed flush as I realised that the hotel manager was still behind us and patiently waiting.
Oops
. Cringing I screwed up my face, knowing that I now had to turn around and face the man who had just witnessed me practically humping Nicholas on the pathway, and my blush deepened even further. My step away was hindered by Nicholas, as he kept a firm hold on my forearm and flashed me a warning glance that I didn’t understand at all. It wasn’t until I allowed him to guide me in front of him that I realised what his earlier expression had been about – he had a monster hard-on and needed me to stay in front of him to cover it.

Trying not to grin at his predicament I obediently placed myself before him and smiled apologetically to Paul, who I noticed had a fairly decent colour to his own cheeks as well. ‘I’ll show you in and leave you to … er …
unpack
,’ he stuttered, sounding like he knew exactly what we would be up to the second the bedroom door closed behind him – and it certainly wouldn’t involve any suitcases.

Once we were in and Paul had made a speedy exit I took a second to look around the room. Just like the setting and main building, the room was beautiful; a huge bed dominated the space, made up with soft cream linens and complete with a high-backed leather headrest. At the foot of the bed was an elegant roll top bath and spanning the opposite wall were floor to ceiling windows, revealing a private balcony and breath-taking views over the lake.

‘Wow … Nicholas, this is just …’ My words dried in my throat as I turned and saw a familiar look of lust burning in Nicholas’ eyes as he stalked towards me.
Oh God
. Lust flooded my body as just one brief look at his expression had my knees weak and my heart rocketing in my chest. ‘I believe I promised payback for your earlier teasing,’ he murmured as my gaze fixed on his hands where he had begun slowly undoing his shirt. His words caused my gaze to flash to his and from just a second of his heated gaze I felt a low, heavy pulse start between my legs. I’d thought that with all the excitement of the hotel tour and talking to Paul that Nicholas might have forgotten his earlier words, but the dark, desire-filled look on his face left no doubt that he fully intended to fulfil his promise to ‘make me beg.’ I could hardly wait.

Licking my parched lips I found myself frozen to the spot and holding my breath as he completed his journey across the room and arrived at my side. His eyes were heavy lidded and the small smile that tweaked the corner of his lips told me that he enjoyed teasing me just as much as I enjoyed the thrill it gave me when he was in control like this.

‘I’m going to strip you now, Becky,’ he informed me in a low voice as his hot breath fanned across my neck and sent tingles cascading along my skin. ‘Then I’m going to lick you and arouse you until you can barely see straight, but I won’t let you come until I’m ready. You’ll be begging me, baby.’ A groan escaped me, frustration mixed with arousal, because from experience I knew that delayed gratification was a game that Nicholas was very,
very
good at. Somehow his immense reserves of self-control meant that he could still look cool, calm, and collected after tormenting me for hours until I was sobbing and begging for release.

‘Do you know what I’ll do then, Becky?’ he asked, his fingers making short work of the buttons down the front of my blouse. Leaning in to nip at my earlobe I gasped, and then felt his tongue soothe the small sting as I let out another soft moan of arousal.

I was fairly sure I knew what he had planned for me – hours of arousing torture with no release – so I hazarded a guess, ‘You’ll start all over again?’ I murmured, my voice weak and thin already, and we’d barely even started. A warm chuckle broke across my collar bone as Nicholas slipped my blouse to the ground and trailed his fingers down my arms until I shivered from the unbearable desire building up in me. ‘No, Becky, we have a meeting with James later so unfortunately we’re a bit pushed for time.’ Pausing, he licked a warm, moist path up my neck until I was dizzy and clinging to his shoulders for support. ‘My intentions are simple, when you have begged me loud and long enough, I’m going to fuck you so hard that you’ll scream my name until you’re hoarse.’