“Okay, let’s get one of the bride and her family before it gets too dark,” the photographer instructed, and Celeste, her parents and Nelsa posed in front of the bounty of twinkling red poinsettias beside the house.
“Beautiful,” the photographer said and Dax agreed.
“Yes, she is, isn’t she?” He slowly neared his bride, then kissed her softly.
Every touch from Celeste made his insides sizzle with heat…and with need. It’d been her idea to wait until their wedding night to make love again, and Dax had been hard since he woke up this morning merely from thinking about finally having her.
Four weeks had never seemed so long.
As if knowing where his thoughts had headed, she leaned toward him and whispered in his ear, “I can’t wait to get out of this dress.”
“What a coincidence. I can’t wait to get you out of that dress.”
She smiled seductively, and Dax grew even harder.
“I’m having a difficult time here, chère. Keep teasing me like that, and we might have to leave this party early, head into the house and-”
“I know where I want our first time to be-our first time as husband and wife, that is. And it isn’t the plantation.”
“Care to enlighten me? Because it better not be far from here. I’m not kidding about how badly I need you, Celeste.” He nuzzled her ear, then lowered his voice to a raspy whisper. “I need to feel your naked body against me, to press against your wetness, then slide inside…”
Her gasp was audible, the pulse at her throat quickened and she arched her body against his.
Dax smiled. He’d wanted to see if she was as eager as he was, and she almost seemed more.
She turned her head to look directly at him, and Dax was momentarily spellbound by the green of her eyes. He was still getting used to the vibrant color.
“Celeste, I have a wedding present for you,” Nanette said as she neared the two of them.
“I’ve already got everything I need right here.” She rose on her toes and nibbled on Dax’s ear. “And I’ll have everything I want real soon, won’t I?” she whispered to him.
“I won’t argue with you,” Nan said, not hearing the whispered addition, “but I do have something that I want to tell you about.”
“What is it?” Celeste asked, sliding her arm around Dax and massaging his behind.
Enjoying this game, he moved his hand to the small of her back, then dipped it inside her gown to finger the top of her thong.
She giggled softly, but Nanette didn’t appear to notice, and plunged on. “I learned at my school’s staff meeting this week that Norco Elementary had one of their kindergarten teachers leave at the Christmas break. She’s not coming back for the remainder of the year, and they really need to hire someone who can begin as soon as school starts back in January.”
“Norco Elementary?” Celeste asked. “Wasn’t that the school that Angelle attended? I think I remember her saying that name.”
Nan nodded. “It isn’t far from here. I thought you might be interested, so I spoke with the principal.”
“And?” Dax asked.
“She wants to talk to you whenever it’s convenient.”
Celeste wrapped her arms around Nanette and squeezed her. “Oh, Nanette, thank you so much. That’s the best wedding present! If I could get a job here, so close to the plantation…well, that’d be a dream come true.” She looked at Dax. “Another dream come true.”
“Well, I didn’t get you the job, but I would say that you’ve got more than a foot in the door. The principal there is a friend of mine, and I think he’ll pay special attention to my recommendation.”
Celeste’s eyes were glistening with tears when she turned to Dax. “Isn’t that wonderful?”
He nodded, truly enjoying seeing her so happy.
“No way,” Nanette mumbled, looking beyond them toward the plantation house.
“What?” Dax asked.
“Roussel. He walked into the house. I guarantee you he’s taking advantage of your wedding to snoop around.” She slapped her hands together. “Well, we’ll just see about that.” She stomped off as Dax chuckled.
“The parish president hasn’t exactly earned any brownie points with Nan.”
“So I see.” Celeste watched Nan grab handfuls of her red bridesmaid skirt to get it out of the way as she barreled up the front steps in hot pursuit of her sworn enemy.
“Don’t tell her I told you this, but I think she actually enjoys sparring with him. So, I’d say she’s still having a good time at our wedding, Charles Roussel or not. In fact, I believe all of my family is having a good time.”
His parents, living in a retirement community in Florida now, had driven in for the wedding, and they were currently visiting with his aunts and uncles who had also come back to the plantation for the big event. None of them had seen the place since Katrina, and while they were dismayed at the hit their beloved home had taken-and the fact that their children hadn’t called them for help-they’d been impressed that the six cousins currently serving medium duty had pulled together to make things right and were very pleased with all that they had accomplished so far.
Naturally, they’d all pulled out their wallets and offered to foot the bill for repairs, but Nanette had informed them that it was only a matter of time until the historical society came through with funding. Dax knew that the actual amount of time until the money came-if the money came-was unpredictable. But he also knew that Nanette didn’t want to ask for help. Truthfully, he didn’t either. They would save the house, and they wouldn’t take from their parents’ retirement money to do it, not unless it was absolutely necessary. Right now, it wasn’t necessary.
Dax scanned the yard and saw Gage and Kayla speaking with the caterers, probably scheduling them for their wedding on Valentine’s Day. Then he saw Jenee chatting with Monique and Ryan. They waved at him, and he grinned, knowing they were all thrilled that he’d managed to find the woman of his dreams.
He continued scanning the areas under the tents, and then the backyard, but didn’t see the other Vicknair cousin.
“Where’s Tristan? He didn’t get called to a fire, did he?”
“Isn’t that him?” Celeste asked, pointing toward the farthest corner of the back tent, where Tristan’s tall frame leaned casually against one of the poles securing the tent, and a striking blonde held his attention. She was standing so close to him that Dax almost didn’t recognize her, and he wouldn’t have, if the woman hadn’t turned her head and smiled.
“Chantelle,” Dax said.
“They look pretty-intense,” Celeste said.
Dax agreed. The two were definitely in a heated conversation about something…perhaps about each other? “She’s the sister of a ghost Gage helped a couple of months ago. Or, I guess I should say a ghost we all helped a couple of months ago, since helping Lillian Bedeau cross was undeniably a joint effort. I wondered back then if Chantelle and Tristan didn’t have something between them. They seemed to connect, in a weird kind of way, you know? But the timing wasn’t right, of course, with everything she was going through with her sister and all. And they did tend to fight a lot.”
“I’ve seen people like that,” Celeste said. “They’re either fighting, or making up, and they put everything they’ve got into both.” She laughed. “Some people enjoy relationships like that.”
“Not me,” Dax said.
“Really, Mr. Vicknair? Well, what kind of relationship do you like? I mean, since I just married you and all, it seems I should probably know.”
He moved his mouth back to her ear, kissed that sweet lobe, then whispered, “I like the kind where I know exactly what a woman wants, because she holds nothing back. I want to know what she’s thinking, what she’s feeling, what she’s needing, in every way. And then I want to fulfill those needs, those wants, those desires. I want to be her best friend, her confidant, but I also want to be the lover who fulfills her every fantasy, her every dream. So when she thinks of having a man, she can think of no other…but me.”