Tudor Redemption (Tudor Dynasty Book 4) (23 page)

I sat in an overstuffed, leather chair as
I accepted a beer from my youngest brother.

“Are you nervous, Damien?” Daniel
inquired.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t. It’s a
huge milestone for me. One I never thought I’d see happen.”

“And Grammy talk too,” Amadeus added,
sitting down next to me.

“I knew there was for your songwriting on
those three that are covered by other artists. The album too?”

“Yeah Daniel, big brother here is on a hot
streak and nothing can get in his way right now.”

“Come on, you two. Let’s get through
Thursday first,” I chided.

“Rehearsal tomorrow? Wedding the day
after?” Daniel snorted. Amadeus joined in.

“Yes and yes,” I replied. I turned to
Daniel, smiling. “So, how’s fatherhood with three at once?”

“Interesting and enlightening.”

“How’s that?” Amadeus quipped.

“That our place is far too small for three
children.”

“I can imagine,” I replied.

“One at a time would have sufficed, but we
wouldn’t trade them for the world.”

“Must be crowded, especially having a
nanny too.”

“It is, and Mary and I have been trying to
decide what to do.”

About that time, Courtney appeared,
Elizabeth in tow. “Daddy, you have to go see them. They’re so little.”

“I will in a minute. Just thought I’d let
you girls fuss over them first.”

Elizabeth stayed with Court, knowing her
daddy would probably take her off to bed. The two of them had some sort of
staring contest going on. Amadeus was just a kid at heart.

“What does Wolfgang think of them?” I
asked.

“Oh, he wants to pinch them, not meaning
to hurt them. Curious more than anything. This one, well, she wants to hold
them.”

“Good times, but for someone else.” I
snorted.

“Hey, you’re not too old to be a dad again.”
Amadeus chuckled.

“Dude, that’s gross,” Court said
horrified.

“Gross,” Elizabeth mimicked.

“What’s gross?” Britt asked, as she walked
into the room.

“Dad and Beth having a baby.”

“I think it would be kinda sweet.”

“I’m all for visiting these little ones. I
can hand them back. That ship has sailed,” I replied, hoping it would put an
end to the conversation.

Beth, Mary, and Zara entered the room. I
hoped the conversation wouldn’t continue. This was the only thing about family
gatherings I detested. Everyone, for a little while, got their nose in everyone
else’s business.

“I take it Mother and Peter went on to
your condo?” I asked, looking at Amadeus.

“Yeah, I’m sure they wanted to rest up,
though Mother was rather adamant about having a family dinner tomorrow evening.”

“I told you.” Beth smiled.

“Just tell me when and where. By the way,
where is Angus?”

“I think he’s keeping a low profile. He
managed to avoid your mother,” Zara said softly.

“Where is he hiding?” I asked again.

My daughters were both giggling, so that
was a sure sign they had information they were not forthcoming with.

“He’s close. So very close,” Britt said,
before going to the dark side of laughter.

“The RV.” Amadeus chuckled. “He’s probably
in there having a huge laugh on all of us.”

“But why wouldn’t he want to see us, say
hello?” Mary asked.

“Because of the situation with Ashley. He
had no warning it was coming. I think he’s still licking his wounds on this
one,” I replied.

“He can go wallow in his self-pity another
time. I didn’t come all this way to spend time with only two of my brothers. I
came to see all three. I want his ass front and center. Daniel and I have an
announcement, and he needs to be in here now.” She marched toward the front
door. “In fact, I’m going to go and drag his ass in here myself.”

Elizabeth got off her cousin’s lap. “I
want to come.”

“Oh no you don’t, short stuff. You’re
staying here with me,” Amadeus said, picking his daughter up.

“This ought to be interesting,” I
muttered. “She’ll probably drag him in by the ear.”

Mary came back in looking confused. “He
was there. I don’t know where he is, but he knew I was coming.”

Courtney started laughing hard.

“Do you mind sharing what’s so funny?” I
asked.

“You guys do know he had a security system
put in this house, don’t you? He installed cameras everywhere in case someone
broke in.”

“You mean he’s been watching us this whole
time? That is really unnerving,” Zara said.

“So the joke’s on us.” Beth howled.

“See if I act concerned about him anytime
soon,” Mary snorted. “The bugger’s been having a laugh on us. Wait until I get
my hands on him.”

The following day was like a blur starting
the moment I woke up. Everyone was going in different directions. The girls to
the motor home, Angus and Ethan here, and Beth and me to a hotel. A hotel of
whose identity was still a mystery.

Rehearsals were going to take place at the
building where Consortium Music would eventually be housed. No one knew about
it, making a perfect location over the club we’d play tomorrow. The rehearsal
was more for me and the musicians backing me than anything else. They all knew
who the guests would be and when they would come on. At least I hoped the
surprise guests would remember as well.

Though Beth and I had bought our wedding
bands, she fought me on an engagement ring. So, instead of a traditional one, I
had secretly bought her a ring and had the center diamond replaced with a ruby.
I figured that way she could wear it on her other hand or over her band. I
wanted to give her something special on our special day. After finding her
again after all these years, well, it came from my heart.

My brother-in-law, Daniel Kennedy, had
been right when he described meeting Mary after so many years.
“How
could this one woman consume my heart, my soul, and my life the way she has?
The moment I opened the door to her studio that day, I immediately knew who she
was. I knew this time she would never leave my life.”

It was the
same feeling for me. The moment I saw Beth that day on Bainbridge Island and
realized who she was, I knew this time my Bethie would never leave my life.

And she has
consumed my heart, soul, and life. Forever my soul mate.

Though she’s turned me into a sentimental
geek right now, I’ll endure anything she dishes out in private. Just as long as
she helps me through this evening’s spur of the moment pre-wedding dinner.

My nerves were so jacked up. I would much
rather spend a quiet evening alone in front of the TV with Beth. But that wasn’t
to be when the Tudor clan all converged in one place. I might complain, but I
secretly loved spending time with all of them. The only ones missing were our
father William of course, and our sister Anne. We’d lost him a few years back.
Anne? Last anyone knew, she was in Australia with her ass-wipe husband. Never
been sure if Mother and Peter have ever tried to locate her. Nothing said, won’t
ask.

Sitting in my SUV, I sent Beth a text
asking for the hotel name and room number. It was time to get changed and head
off to this family dinner.

Four Seasons. Suite
1045, got us one with stunning views of the sound and Elliott Bay.

Perfect, as was everything Beth did, or so
I was finding out. I shot back a text.

Perfect. On my
way.

I headed down Queen Anne Hill toward the
city center.

“Busy day?” She giggled as she kissed me,
leading me further into the suite.

“Yeah, but it was all good. Everyone is
ready.”

“Good. Want a beer before you take a
shower?”

“Can I just sit down for a few minutes?
Please?”

“Five minutes. No more. We’re trying to
make an early evening of this dinner and family get-together.”

“By we, I take it to mean you, Zara, and
Mary?”

“Yes.” She grinned.

I groaned. “I can see the three of you are
thick as thieves already.”

“Zara said if we didn’t, your mother would
turn it into something far more involved.”

I took a long swallow off my beer. “You do
realize we aren’t going to be able to get away for any sort of honeymoon
anytime soon.”

“Yes, we’ve discussed it several times. I’ll
take this trip to London as a pre-honeymoon.”

“Thank you. I wouldn’t have done it so
quickly behind the U.S. release, but Peter’s people have it all set up for me.”

“Not to mention interviews by the European
press.”

“That too. It’s still hard to believe how
this thing has taken off already.”

“It’s because it’s brilliant, Dame. Your
best work ever.”

“My only work ever.” I snorted as she
frowned at me. “You know what I mean. It’s my first solo project.”

“Come on, say it. You’re proud of it.”

“I am proud of it. Extremely. Anyway,
London will be fun.”

“It will. I’m looking forward to it.”

“We’ll make time to go visit my aunt Lucy
while we’re there.”

“Your aunt Lucy?”

“Yeah, my dad’s sister. I always try to
see her when I’m there. Very wise woman. You’ll love her.”

“I’m sure I will. Not being a spoil sport,
but you need to go get ready.”

I finished off my beer and headed to the
bedroom.

Soon, we pulled up in front of Angus’s
house. Everyone was already here, judging by the number of cars. There were
also catering vans. I glanced at Beth.

She shrugged her shoulders. “I have no
idea. When I was over here this afternoon, we were having pizza.”

“Mother,” I mumbled.

Mary greeted us at the door. “Slight
change in plans.”

“Mother?” I snorted.

“Of course. Come on before she comes in
wondering what’s taking us so long.”

As we walked into the family room, it was obvious
everyone had been waiting.

“Good, now that the guests of honor are
here, can we eat?” Angus crowed.

“You’re always hungry, Uncle Angus,”
Courtney quipped.

With that, we all dug into a buffet
provided by Mother and Peter, and quite vegetarian. Not our usual feast. Peter had
never had qualms with the rest of us having meat as long as it didn’t
contaminate, or was cooked in, anything his food had been in.

I whispered to Beth. “This isn’t the norm
when Peter’s here. I wonder if Mother made changes. I certainly hope she hasn’t
tampered with our wedding brunch.”

“No, I double checked when Zara called and
told me she’d changed this evening from pizza to a catered meal.”

“I don’t mind it too much, but tomorrow is
our day. I want eggs and anything else you have come up with.”

“And you shall have them.”

The evening was a nice, quiet way for
Ethan and Beth to get a good dose of my family all together under one roof. For
times like this were few and far between any more. At least the quiet part.

Chapter Nineteen

We tried to keep our wedding as simple as
possible considering all that was going on around us. Wasn’t too hard to do
since we were getting married in our suite. To be honest, I was in a daze.

Suddenly, she appeared and my life stood
still. She entered the main salon from a second bedroom. Followed by my
daughters, Brittany and Courtney. The girls looked beautiful of course...but
Beth. My Bethie.

Beth looked breathtakingly gorgeous as she
stood there next to me. Wearing an ivory colored dress with matching heels, she
looked as though she’d stepped off the pages of some fashion magazine. We had a
view of the sound from living room, behind the minister, as we said our vows.
Brittany, Courtney, and Ethan stood up with us, each of them smiling as if they
shared some secret.

I leaned down and kissed my wife for the
first time. My life was now complete. I heard Angus somewhere in the background
making a rude noise as usual, but reminding me I was kissing my bride perhaps a
bit too long and too passionately.

Both the girls had their arms around me,
and Beth with Ethan following, before we joined the rest of my family who were
patiently waiting.

Mother and Peter were the first. I kept a
close eye on my two brothers, they hugged my new bride and welcomed her to the clan.
Angus in particular. What the heck, it became a sea of family inducting Beth
into the fold.

During a lull at breakfast, everyone
toasted, starting with Peter. As the unofficial patriarch of this family, he
was eloquent. I’m sure my father was smiling down from wherever he was, pleased
with the man who’d, sort of, become his stand in. Never a replacement. That had
never been Peter’s style.

Ethan got out of his chair and walked
toward us. He took a sealed envelope from his inside jacket pocket. He handed
it to me smiling. I glanced at Beth, who shrugged her shoulders.

Ripping it open, I pulled out the folded
white paper. I read it closely, then again, as Beth looked on. I could see
tears forming in her eyes, and I knew I had a few in mine.

Ethan Asher was now Ethan Tudor. Quietly,
he’d applied to the court system to legally change his name to mine. I was out
of my chair, hugging him hard. This one simple gesture was one I would never
take lightly.

“Well are you going to share or not?”
Angus drawled. I could see Mary slap his hand playfully, urging our wayward
brother to behave.

I held up the paper before handing it to
Beth. “Ethan’s now officially a Tudor. My son.”

He and Beth had also had his birth
certificate changed, adding me as his father. I’d known about that, since I had
had to sign papers. This, however, was completely unexpected.

“That’s wonderful,” my mother said.

Everyone was chattering about that bit of
news. Court and Britt did me proud by going over and hugging Ethan. It appeared
as though the three of them were becoming fast friends and thick as thieves.

Amadeus stood up, tapping on his glass of
ice water. “Congratulations, Beth and Dame. But especially to Beth. We’ve
waited quite a while to see our oldest brother as happy as you have made him.”
He looked down at Zara, who’d passed him a piece of paper. “Oh and it looks
like you’ve got a solid hit on your hands, Dame. The album is through the roof
already, and the single has had an obscene amount of downloads. Both of them.”

Whistling and applauding ensued. I was
stunned. “Both of them?” I asked, looking between him and Peter.

“Amadeus thought since the single and
album were officially being released today, that putting out “Lost No More to
Me” today would be most appropriate. Seeing that it’s your and Beth’s wedding
day.”

The song was one I’d written about Beth
after our first encounter on Bainbridge. I’d written it on my sailboat. Amadeus
knew that fact, but I’d kept Beth in the dark. I planned to sing it to her
tonight at my concert.

“They love you!” Angus crowed. “Man, you
came out of the park with hits. I guess you could say you have a homerun.”

“‘Lost No More To Me’? That’s about us?” Beth
whispered. I could see the tears again.

I just nodded.

“I hate to break this up, but Dame needs
to go change,” Zara announced. “That is unless of course, he wants to go to his
first interview dressed in his wedding clothes.”

I shook my head. “No. I don’t want to ruin
this image I seem to have made. First, I want to thank you all for today. It
made it all the more special. I look forward to seeing you all tonight.”

****

The interviews were fairly cut and dried.
The focal point, of course, was on the new album, the singles, with a bit of my
history thrown in for those who might be new to my music.

Beth, not wanting to take the focus off my
music, had elected not to accompany Zara and me. Zara had decided at the last
minute, with the momentum this CD had gained so quickly, it would help keep the
interviews on track.

With Julia in town, Red had assigned himself
as my security detail. I probably wouldn’t have bothered with one, but we all
knew my ex-wife was good at commando tactics. When she wanted her way, she let
nothing and no one stand in her way.

The first interviews had been the local
morning talk shows. Because of my wedding, the interviews were being recorded
for release tomorrow. With the exception of one. They did it live, even though
it was near the end of their broadcast.

Two more for print media early in the
afternoon, at a hotel not far from the Four Seasons. I looked forward to one in
particular. It was with Beth’s former employer, Rolling Stone. She would join
me in that one. It was an exclusive, and one Beth had negotiated for me
herself.

Red led us through the hotel lobby like
the sleuth he was. We stepped out and into an unusually warm fall afternoon. We
walked in the direction of our hotel, Red bringing up the rear. I was looking
forward to hopefully spending a few quiet hours with my bride. Just the two of
us. Alone.

Out of nowhere that voice I have come to
loath. I wasn’t going to let it ruin this perfect day. Ignoring her was the far
best course of action.

A couple of brick looking security guys
were on her faster than even she expected.

“Enjoy the taste of fame you have today,
Dame. It’s not yours to have.”

I squeezed Beth’s hand as we kept walking.
Julia was baiting me, and I was not going to fall prey to her. Or stoop to her
level. Red had us change our course slightly, giving the appearance we were heading
to my condo. Once we got around the corner and out of her sight, she would have
no idea where we went.

“I want to see my daughters. Make it
happen.”

I sucked in a breath before turning to
face her, walking backward as I did. “You should have thought of the
consequences when you abandoned us. My daughters are adults now. They make
their own decisions, and I stand behind whatever they choose.”

“Oh, I think they’ll be very interested to
talk to me. I’m sure they’d love to hear how their father isn’t the saint he
appears to be.”

“Unlike you, I’ve never had to pretend
with them.”

“Sure. I’m sure you’ve schooled Beth as
well, as far as what to say around them.”

I was about to say something cocky, but
Beth beat me to it. “Stop living in the past, Julia. It’s made you a very
bitter woman. You made your bed, now lie in it.”

Turning back around so neither of us had
to look at her any longer, we turned the corner.

“If she somehow got a ticket for tonight,
make sure security knows to bar her from backstage. I will personally rip a new
one for the person or persons who let her slip through. Do I make myself clear?”

“Don’t worry about her. It’s taken care
of, Damien. It’s just harder out here on a public street. She knows the laws
and what she can do,” Red said.

“Yeah, a lot of good that restraining order
has done.”

“It’s not like L.A. You have friends here,
so don’t worry.”

“I don’t intend to, as long as she’s
nowhere near me or my family.”

We entered the hotel through a side door
and quickly made our way to the elevators. Red rode with us to our floor before
disappearing.

“This has been one remarkable day so far,
hasn’t it?” I asked as I wrapped my arms around my wife for the first time
since our wedding breakfast.

“It has and there’s a whole lot more to
come,” she replied saucily.

“Mmmmm, that is so true.”

“Dame! I’m not talking about where your
brain seems to be stuck.”

“What? I’m merely agreeing with you.” I
chuckled.

“Good, because seriously, do you really
think that today of all days anyone is going to leave us alone for more than
thirty minutes, if that?”

“Probably not. All I want is time with my
bride before this evening’s madness begins.” I loosened my grip on her, but not
before I gave her a kiss that would make a snowman’s toes curl. “Come, let’s be
naughty and see how far we can get.” Taking her by the hand and surprisingly
without protest, I led her into the bedroom.

We stood in the middle of the floor, her
arms wrapped around my neck. She pulled me to her. Our mouths met, and I felt
her tongue outlining my lips. I opened, and our tongues began to dance.
Grabbing her ass, I pulled her hard against my now massive hard on.

Lowering my head, I kissed the area
between her breasts then brushed kisses against her shoulder blades, her jaw,
and oh yeah, the back of her ears. As I sucked one nipple, I felt her fingers
in my hair as she gasped at the sensation. Teasing her, I twirled the nipple
playfully.

I led her to the bed and watched as she
crawled onto the mattress. Then, I was over her, pinning her on her back.

“Spread your legs.”

She did, but I wanted more. I made my way
to the bottom of the mattress. I squatted, opening her legs even wider. She was
wet for me. Her hips thrust toward me as I slid my tongue inside her pussy. She
gasped when I nipped at her clit. I knew she was hanging on by a thread. It
wouldn’t take much to make her come. I heard her cry out as I sucked. Finally,
she lost control as I stabbed my tongue into her pussy in furious strokes. She
arched against my face as she rode out her orgasm.

I sat back up and watched her. I began to
move my hand up and down my cock, squeezing my fingers over the long, thick
shaft. I felt a drop of cum at the tip. I ran a finger over it then inserted it
into her mouth as I continued to stroke myself.

Covering her with my body, I ground my
cock against her pussy. As we shared a deep kiss, I shoved into her hard and
deep. She, in turn, arched her back, wrapping her legs around me.

“Damien...”

“What is it, Bethie?”

“Fuck me. Hard.”

I thrust into her as deeply as I could.
Our bodies found a familiar rhythm as we clung to each other. I cursed to
myself as I felt my balls tighten up, my release not far off. As it enveloped
me, I vaguely recall calling out to her. I lay on top of her, breathing hard,
still inside her.

“I love you, wife,” I croaked in her ear.

“I love you as well, husband.”

Finally, I rolled off her, and putting my
arm around her, tucked her in next to me.

“We can’t fall asleep, Dame.”

“I know. Just give me a minute to enjoy
this.”

Remembering my gift, the ruby ring, I
climbed out of the bed. I couldn’t help but look at her lying there.

“Where are you going?”

“I, um, thought I’d get us some water. We’ll
celebrate later tonight with champagne.”

“Okay,” she replied, arching her eyebrow
at me curiously.

I was torn as to whether to give the ring
to her now or later this evening. After the concert. By then, who knew what
might be going on? There could be a lot of people around wanting to help
celebrate. No, now, while we had this quiet time alone.

Taking the ring out of the room safe, I
grabbed two bottles of water before returning to the bedroom. As I walked into
the room, I noticed her stretched out on the bed, the sheet barely covering
her. I swallowed hard.

“Here you go,” I said, sliding next to
her. She accepted the water. I set my bottle on the table next to the bed.
Trying to hide the ring I’d put in my hand.

“Thank you.” She eyed me, a smile curling
up on her lips. “What are you up to?”

“Whatever do you mean?”

“Nothing. You’re acting a little strange,
that’s all.”

“It’s been a busy day, and far from over.”
I kept my eyes on her. She had some of the cutest little habits. I doubted she
was even aware of some of them. Like how she wrinkled her nose just now.

I took her hand. Though I’d dreamt about
smoothly sliding the ring over her finger, that was not to be. Instead, I took
the ring with my other hand and slipped it over her knuckle until it rested
above her band.