Nobody's Hero (52 page)

Karla and Adam hadn’t kept the baby a secret
from their closest family members. Of course, everyone would know
soon enough, and if anyone thought that was the only reason they
were marrying, well, who cared. Karla knew Adam loved her for
herself. That’s all that mattered.

Grant stood awkwardly to the side and Karla
walked over to her on silent feet. “Mistress Grant, thank you for
taking such good care of Adam until I could take over.” They both
chuckled, then Karla reached for her hand and squeezed it. “And
thanks for bringing his mother back into his life.” Reuniting Adam
with his mother had helped him put to rest so many of the torments
of the past, and went a long way toward making him able to move on,
unsaddling so much of the grief from the past.

The female Marine smiled and executed a
salaam and a bow before Karla. “Thank you for making my master
sergeant so happy.” She sobered. “There was never anything serious
between us, you know. We clash in too many ways. I was just safe.
No emotional strings. That’s the way we both wanted it. As soon as
you came back into his life, I can state unequivocally he’s only
had eyes for you. As it should be. You’re so perfect for him.”

Karla smiled, hugged the woman, and then
turned to briefly thank the fourth Marine, who she didn't
recognize.

Before Cassie helped adjust Karla’s veil over
her face and Angie pulled back the curtains for Karla to crawl onto
the litter just as the Middle Eastern strains of “Bird of Paradise”
began to play from below.

She nodded. “I’m ready.”
Dear Lord, was
she ever ready
.
Watch out, Master, here I come.

She adjusted her silver satin harem skirt
over her bare legs, tucked her feet under her bottom, feeling the
beads on her silver slippers biting into her ass. At least she
hadn't incurred any more punishments since they'd returned from
Chicago. His belt had been brutally painful. She knew he’d enjoyed
every minute of her restraining him, though, despite his protests.
That's probably why he hadn’t used the buckle on her. She
shuddered, in a bad way, to think what that would be like.

But playtime had been nonexistent since
Chicago, too, what with all the wedding plans. Tonight. She
couldn't wait.

The bodice she and her mother had decorated
had cap sleeves and covered her midriff. She didn’t want any of
their guests to have a heart attack if she’d shown up in nothing
but a beaded bra and harem pants. She and her mother had beaded the
thing until their fingers were raw, but it was beautiful, gold
beading and trim against the silver satin.

Karla made sure she had the veil adjusted to
cover only her nose and the lower half of her face. She wanted
nothing obscuring her view of Adam once she alighted from this
contraption. The four uniformed escorts each took a post, one at
each handle of the gilt-edged harem litter she’d rented from a
specialty shop in Denver, and, at the command of the unknown
ranking officer, lifted in unison.

Karla hoped Damián’s prosthesis would support
him on the stairs, but he’d insisted on being among those who
carried her to Adam and she wouldn’t deny him anything after all he
meant to Adam. He’d taken up a position in the rear, so that that
bulk of her weight would be on Marc and the unknown Marine.

Angie walked down the stairs first, then
Cassie. Karla’s heart pounded as the Marines carrying her began to
march slowly toward the stairs. The view of the city’s skyline
spread out before her as they approached the first landing. Adam
had told her they’d be house hunting just as soon as they returned
from their honeymoon. He still hadn’t told her where they were
headed on their honeymoon, only that it would take them about a day
to drive there, if the weather held up. She really didn’t care, as
long as she was with him.

The litter bearers made the turn on the
landing, then proceeded down the next set of stairs. She looked up
and saw Adam as a bit of a blur through the litter’s curtains and
perhaps a few tears. He stood straight and tall, magnificent and
dashing in his Marine uniform, his headgear and gloves tucked under
his arm, sword in its scabbard, and his jaw definitely hanging
open. She smiled, loving his reaction. Quickly, he regained his
composure and grinned back at her, then his body relaxed and he
shook his head as he handed his headgear and gloves to Damián. She
knew he wanted her to shake up his life as much as she wanted to do
it.

She heard titters of laughter and murmurs,
then her mother whispered, “That’s my girl,” but Karla couldn’t
take her eyes off Adam. A sudden and unfamiliar shyness enveloped
her and smiled demurely. She’d never seen him in his uniform,
except in his portrait. So handsome, proud, and honorable. Her
Adam. At last. Tears blurred her vision.

Damn. No tears. Not today
. This was
the happiest day of her life.

As the litter was lowered to the floor,
Cassie and Angie lifted the curtains and each held out a hand to
help her exit its confines and stand. Her parents came to stand in
front of her and she looked up at her father, who also had tears in
his eyes.
Oh, dear
. Now she stood no chance of maintaining
her composure. Daddy never cried. She stood on her slippered toes
to kiss him.

“I love you, Daddy,” she whispered through
her constricted throat.

“I love you, too, sweetheart. I can’t believe
my little girl is all grown up. Just assure me this is what you
want and that you’re happy.”

“Oh, Daddy. Adam completes me. I’ve never
been happier in my life.”

He hugged her and kissed her cheek through
the veil. Then she kissed her mother, who also had tears in her
eyes. If they didn’t stop with all the crying, Karla would be a
blubbering mess by the time she met Adam. But she didn’t care. She
couldn’t wait a minute longer to be united forever with the man she
loved. She turned toward Adam, who now stood with Damián on his
left and the minister on his right, also dressed in a Marine
uniform.

She smiled as she recognized the minister, or
chaplain, she supposed, as the fourth Marine who had carried her
litter downstairs. He smiled and cleared his throat. “Who gives
this woman to be united in holy matrimony?”

Her father’s voice quavered as he answered,
“Her mother and I do.”

Then Adam stepped forward to meet her, his
elbow crooked for her, and the waterworks began in earnest. She
would have stumbled if he hadn’t reached out to steady her, then he
tucked her hand in his elbow and placed his warm hand over her cold
one.

Safe
.

Her chin quivered as they stepped closer to
the chaplain. The next part of the ceremony was a complete blur.
All that registered was that she promised to love, honor, and obey
Adam and he promised to love, honor, and cherish her. Nothing else
mattered.

“The rings, please,” the chaplain asked.
Damián and Cassie handed them to Adam and Karla and they held them
in their cupped and open hands to be blessed. Her ring for Adam was
a bright shiny platinum. She hadn’t wanted yellow gold like the one
he wore for Joni. But her attention was riveted by his large hand
holding the burnished ring of pink-tinted gold. How unusual. She’d
never seen anything like it.

The chaplain took the ring from Karla and
held it while Adam took her hand, then gave it to Adam. His hand
trembled as he placed the beautiful ring over her first knuckle,
and said, “Karla, this ring is a token of my love and faithfulness
to you, today and forever.” His fingers shook even more as he
pressed it over her wider knuckle. A perfect fit. How had he known?
“This ring brought my great-great-grandmother many years of
happiness and I hope it does the same for us, love.”

Karla knew how much Adam loved his mother’s
family heritage, especially this couple she’d come to learn more
about on the long drive from Chicago. They mirrored her and Adam in
so many ways, including their age difference. She blinked rapidly,
not wanting to miss a moment of this for anything, but so
overwhelmed by the emotions she was feeling, the greatest of which
was Adam’s love.

Taking a deep breath, she took the ring from
the chaplain and reached for Adam’s hand, warm and comforting. She
took his warm hand in hers and placed the ring over the first
knuckle of his finger, much as he had done hers.

“Adam, this ring is a symbol of my love and
faithfulness to you and I promise to be your wife, your partner,
your lover—today and forever.” She held onto Adam’s hand like a
lifeline, never wanting to let go, and smiled up into his
moss-green eyes.

The chaplain addressed their friends and
family next. “Will you who are present here today surround this
couple in love, offering them the joys of your friendship?”

“We will.”

“Will you support this couple in their
relationship? At times of conflict, will you offer them the
strength of your wisest counsel and the comfort of your thoughtful
concern? At times of joy, will you celebrate with them, nourishing
their love for one another?”

“We will.”

Hearing the love and support filling the
room, and Adam standing at her side, Karla couldn’t help but know
she was the luckiest woman alive.

“By the power vested in me by the State of
Colorado, I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

* * *

Adam had told Captain Reed earlier he didn’t
need anyone telling him when it was time to kiss his bride. He’d
know. So he reached out and unhooked the left side of the silver
veil to reveal the sexy lips of his beautiful, sexy harem girl and
bent down to brush his mouth against hers, then took her hair
corset and pulled gently, but firmly, to open her mouth to him.

He heard the titters of their friends and
family, but most of them knew which way he swung. Damn it, he
hadn’t kissed her or even touched her since they’d returned to
Denver. She’d been staying here at Marc’s, tied up in preparations
for the wedding. Obviously, she’d been busy. When he’d seen them
carrying the harem litter down the stairs, he’d nearly lost it.

Only Karla.

Mine.

He deepened the kiss and heard the chaplain
clear his throat, but didn’t care. He wasn’t finished. She wrapped
her arms around his neck and pulled him closer.
That’s my
girl.

He broke off the kiss with great reluctance
and whispered in her ear, “Tonight, you will surrender to your
sheikh totally and completely, baby tiger.” When Karla’s knees
buckled, he steadied her and pulled away to gauge her reaction,
seeing the smoldering desire and dilated pupils. No doubt, they
mirrored his own eyes.

The sound of the guests tore his focus away
from his gorgeous bride. A flurry of activity ensued, from going
through the buffet line to get the guests eating to spending the
next hour or so greeting those who had joined them for their
special day. To say he was surprised at the number of active and
retired Corps members on hand was an understatement. When he’d put
the word out to his Facebook group, hoping to at least elicit
attendance from six to eight active-duty officers and NCOs to form
a saber arch later, he’d never expected so many of them to drop
everything to be here.

Angelina approached them and, in a stage
whisper, asked Karla, “Are you ready to cut the cake?”

Karla nodded and hooked her hand into the
crook of Adam’s elbow. They followed the chef who had pulled off an
amazing feast for their friends on extremely short notice. The
woman would be a catch for any restaurant or catering business in
town. Maybe she’d land a job as a result of today’s event. He knew
it was bothering her that she didn’t have a job yet, although she
still had some events in her hometown of Aspen Corners that she was
obligated to do as part of her catering business there.

Adam had been too nervous to look around, so
this was the first chance he’d gotten to see the cake. It stood
three tiers tall, columns lifting the top tier above the others,
and what looked like fresh red roses decorating the base. The cake
topper caught his eye and he chuckled. It showed a groom in Marine
dress blues carrying a harem girl dressed in red. How she’d managed
to get that done on such short notice, he had no idea, but knew to
never doubt the resourcefulness of his wife. He laid his cover and
gloves on the table nearby.

When Angelina picked up a knife, Adam drew
his sword and smiled when Karla waved away the knife at the same
time. Ah, so his bride had done her homework on military wedding
ceremonies, which pleased him greatly.

He presented the sword to her and she nibbled
her lower lip as she looked at the cake, seeming to determine how
best to tackle the task at hand. Then she grinned and leaned toward
him to whisper, “Fear not, Your Excellency. I watched a YouTube
video on how to do this.”

“Well, I know how much you’ve learned from
online videos in the past, so I have no doubt you’ll be a pro at
this, as well, in no time.”

Karla blushed the prettiest shade of pink and
he grinned, knowing she remembered exactly which video he was
talking about. She smiled up at him.

“Excellency, if you would be so kind as to
guide my hand.”

He placed his hand over hers and they cut a
piece from the top tier. Taking the cake into his hand, he broke
off a piece and fed it to his wife. He looked forward to feeding
her many, many times in their years to come.

Karla took a piece and threatened playfully
to smear it across his face, but at his growl, she held it
patiently to his lips, waiting for him to open. He nipped her
fingers in the process of taking a bite of the cake. He couldn’t
wait to get her to the honeymoon suite he’d reserved downtown. They
wouldn’t hit the road until the morning, probably late morning, if
he left her as exhausted tonight as he intended.