The View from Alameda Island - Robyn Carr Page 0,101

don’t want to hurt him, even though there’s an argument that he deserves to be hurt. All I want is my life back.”

Lacey was quiet for a moment, then she said, “I don’t think he’s going to make that easy.”

“Sweetheart, I knew that before we’d been married a year.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

On January eighth Beau took Lauren with him to a wedding in a small Catholic church on the outskirts of Oakland. Beau was going to stand as best man for Tim Bradbury. It was supposed to be a very small, private affair but by the time Tim and Angela included their families, small was impossible. Angela lost control of the wedding early on as her mother, aunts, grandparents, siblings and cousins took over. At the end of the day their intimate little wedding was over one hundred strong with every woman bringing covered dishes and the mariachis from a couple of towns over arrived. There was also a dance band. The flowers must have been ordered from afar, it being January, and they were plentiful. There were piñatas for the children, beer and wine aplenty and the most delicious Mexican food imaginable.

It came as no surprise to Beau that the Bradbury family, a well-to-do professional family, blended in beautifully and had the best time of all. Beau mentioned it to Michael and Drew and they wouldn’t miss it, so they were there with girlfriends in tow. There was music, dancing, singing, laughing, toasting and toasting and toasting. Beau gave the bride and groom a roaring good speech.

“I don’t think any couple I’ve ever met has been more married,” Lauren said. “They really know how to do it right.”

“Did you have a big wedding?” he asked her.

“Of course,” she said. “It wasn’t a fun wedding, however. It was prim, proper and stick-up-your-butt boring.”

Beau erupted with laughter, then grabbed her in his arms and spun her around the dance floor—the church basement—one more time. It was after midnight when a limo ordered by Tim’s father arrived at the little church and whisked Tim and Angela away, back to the city where they’d been staying.

And Beau took Lauren back to her house where they stumbled into her bedroom, peeling off clothes along the way, their lips locked together the whole time. Within seconds they were on the bed, naked, holding on to each other. The moment Beau touched her, she opened to him like a beautiful flower and he filled her with all his love and lust. Her skin, so soft and perfect to his touch, grew warm and supple and her hips moved beneath him.

This was what perfect love felt like, when there was trust and devotion and passion. Beau tried to count the number of satisfied emotions every time they made love. There was blinding pleasure, there was unparalleled contentment, comfort, excitement, a need quenched, a desire gratified. Body and soul came together for him and he knew complete fulfillment.

“I can’t believe you’re mine,” she whispered.

“Oh, I’m yours,” he said. “I’m yours like I’ve been waiting for you my whole life. This is how it’s supposed to be.” With his lips on hers, his hands all over her, filling her, moving with her, it wasn’t long before she came to a thundering climax in his arms. It was so quick; it was always quick. Her body responded to his body and together their love was powerful yet easy. Then his favorite part, holding her as she came back to earth, as her body trembled and her breathing evened. He gave her a flood of small kisses to mark the way home and she held him to make sure they were together for the ride.

“That was so nice,” he whispered. “Hard to believe you had trouble with orgasms before. They come to you very easily now.”

“Hm, now. The second you touch me, I have to hold back so you can come with me.”

“Loving you is the best part of my life,” he said.

She touched his handsome face. “I never thought I’d have this,” she whispered. “I was planning to be alone. Alone and quite content.”

He chuckled. “So was I. But at least neither of us was planning to be a priest.”

“Weren’t they the most beautiful couple? The chemistry was rolling off them in waves. It was really hard for me to imagine Tim that way, lusty and sexual and...”

“And not a priest?” he finished for her.

“There was nothing priestly about him at the wedding,” she said, snuggling closer. “Every time I saw him,