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I couldn't argue. Drake had a traditional wedding with Maureen, and had been apart for the night before the wedding. It did nothing to protect their marriage.
I relented and stayed with him the night before the ceremony, but I made it a point to not look at him that entire evening and when we made love, he blindfolded me, which, luckily, was not a departure from the norm given the nature of our bedroom games. Drake tried to make me look him in the eye, but I was successful in avoiding it, studiously keeping my eyes squeezed shut even when he tickled me, making me silly with laughter afterward.
I got up really early the day of our wedding, didn't even look at him once my eyes opened, and before he woke up, I carefully slipped out of the 8th Avenue apartment we now shared. I knew that if I didn't, he'd force me to look in his eyes to make a point.
I didn't want to take chances with Fate, as much as I knew he was right.
So it was that I hadn't seen Drake for almost twenty-four hours when our late afternoon ceremony at my father's apartment approached. Elaine, Heath's wife Christie and I had been sipping champagne cocktails while we dressed to take the edge off our nerves, and so once Elaine was finished with my hair, attaching the veil to a clip in my up do, I had to use the washroom.
Christie was inside the en suite, so I slipped outside the bedroom to the main washroom down the hall, holding my dress up so I didn’t trip over it, but I stepped on the tulle and I fell against the wall trying not to rip it, my dress bunched up around me.
"Oh, Damn…" I muttered as I tried to free my foot from the fabric.
It was then Drake appeared, ruining my plans to avoid seeing him until I walked down the aisle. All I saw was a flash of sober black, a white bow tie, black shiny hair and blue-blue eyes beneath thick black lashes, but it was enough to know it was my husband-to-be. The man who could still take my breath away, he was that gorgeous.
I groaned and squeezed my eyes shut.
"Dammit!" I said, covering my eyes with a hand. "I didn’t want to see you yet!"
"Well, nice to see you, too, Ms. Bennet," he said, his voice filled with humor. "Falling over in the hallway are you? I don't see any high heels on you this time. Or any bloody knees and hands but I do hope you're wearing some nice garters and stockings…"
I grinned at the reference to that first time we met, but kept my hand plastered over my eyes so I couldn't see him. "Only my usual deft footing to blame, I'm afraid. Please go away so I can go to the washroom without seeing you."
"You already saw me," he said and I felt him trying to free my foot from the hole I had made in the tulle despite my efforts to avoid it. He took my hands in his, prying them away from my eyes. I kept my eyes shut regardless. "If you’re right, you might as well accept that our marriage is over, and we might as well break up right now."
I opened my eyes at that, only to see his huge grin.
"I knew that would work," he said and held me out at arm's length. He turned me around in a circle, the train of my dress twisting so that I had to bend down and fix it. When I stood back up, the train in my hand, his eyes moved over me, stopping on my cleavage, which the strapless bodice was unable to entirely keep restrained. He made a little sound in the back of his throat when I fixed it, pulling the bodice up a bit to cover myself.
"Is that better?" I asked, adjusting my breasts.
"You look…" he said and shook his head slowly. "You look like you're covered in icing sugar and ready to be licked all over. How will I make it through the night?"
I smiled, pleased that he approved. "Do you like it? My father picked it out."
Drake clicked his tongue. "The man has wonderful taste." He moved closer to me, his arms slipping around my waist, pulling me against his body. "Speaking of taste, I want one…"
He kissed me, his mouth covering mine, his lips warm and soft. His touch sent a thrill through my body, igniting a fire that I knew wouldn’t soon burn out. His hand slipped over top of my dress, up from my waist to my bust, his fingers tracing the upper curves of my breasts.
"It's a beautiful dress, but to tell you the truth, I can't wait to strip this off you."
Then he reached into a pocket in his tux and handed me a white jewelry box with a white ribbon tied around it.
"Your neck is bare..." he said and caressed my collarbone.
"As you commanded," I said. The previous night, he'd instructed me not to wear my collar. I wondered why at the time, but now I knew. He had something else for me to wear.
"Since you slipped out this morning before I was able to give this to you, I had to sneak past the guards to get this to you before the ceremony."
I took the box and untied the ribbon, my fingers trembling. Inside was a necklace in white gold, the necklace encrusted with tiny diamonds, a large red teardrop diamond dangling from the center.
"Oh, my God, Drake." I held the box up, the diamonds sparkling in the light.
"Come here," he said and pulled me into the bathroom and in front of the large mirror. He took the necklace from the box and went behind me to place it around my neck. The large diamond hung below my throat.
"It's beautiful," I whispered, barely able to speak.
"Look at yourself," he said, his face next to mine. "You're beautiful, future Mrs. Katherine Marie McDermott Morgan."
