Treading Water: Coming Home Part 49

"We'll look forward to that. Plan to stay here until the house is ready for occupants."

"This was the best Christmas ever," Maggie said. "For once, no one was missing. Thank you for that."

"My pleasure, honey." She hugged her younger sister for a long time. "Hurry back."

"I will."

"Ready, darlin'?" Reid asked.

"I need to get my bag."

"Jill already put it in the car."

"Of course she did," Kate said with a smile for her endlessly efficient sister who draped a fur-lined cape around Kate's shoulders. Kate turned to face the family that had gathered to see them off. "Thanks for being here, everyone. You'll never know how very much it meant to me."

"Wait," Maggie said. "Let us go first."

The entire family trooped onto the front porch ahead of Reid and Kate.

"Okay," Maggie called to them. "We're ready!"

As Reid and Kate walked onto the porch, they were showered with fragrant rose petals.

"Don't tell me you guys tied cans to my car, too," Reid said as he brushed a petal off Kate's forehead.

"He wanted to," Ashton said, pointing a thumb at Buddy, "but I intervened."

"Thank you, son," Reid said, hugging him. He reached for Kate's hand. "Shall we?"

Kate nodded and took his hand to go down the stairs. He tucked her into the sleek silver Mercedes sedan he'd bought a couple of weeks ago. In the biting cold, Kate was immediately grateful for the heated seats.

"G.o.dd.a.m.ned Buddy," Reid muttered.

"What?"

He glanced up at the rearview mirror. "Look."

Kate spun around and laughed when she saw the words "Just Married" written on the back window in white foam.

"He better not have gotten any on the paint, or I'll have to kill him."

"I won't let you kill him. But you have to laugh-one of the biggest names in country music writing on a car with shaving cream."

"Ha. Ha."

"Come on, it's funny."

"If you say so."

Kate took a last look back at the family that was waving them off. "I can't believe it's over. I already miss them."

"Don't forget you're married to a pilot now, darlin'. You can see them any time you want to."

"Thanks for the reminder. That makes me feel better." She looked over at him as he drove down the long lane from her house to the main road. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, you can."

"How are we going to get into the hotel without attracting a mob?" They were still dressed in wedding attire that would surely create a stir in the hotel.

"Have you no faith whatsoever in your new husband?"

"I'm very sorry. I didn't mean to insult you."

He took her hand and brought it to his lips. "I'll forgive you if you put your head back, close your eyes and relax."

"I can do that." Her eyelids felt like they weighed a hundred pounds. The next time she opened her eyes, Reid was lowering her onto a bed in a room that glowed with candlelight. "How did we get here?"

"It was magic."

"Mmm. It's been magic from the very start." The combination of the silk dress and the soft brush of the fur lining in the cape made her skin tingle. She held out a hand to him.

"Be right there. Let me get rid of my coat." He discarded the coat and kicked off his shoes before joining her on the bed.

"I can't believe we're really married."

He reached for her hand and kissed the rings on her finger. "Believe it."

"I keep waiting to wake up to find out it was all a dream. It wasn't a dream, was it?"

"It was a dream come true, baby." His phone chimed with a text, but he didn't move. Rather, he ran his fingers over her arm, raising a trail of goose b.u.mps.

"Aren't you going to check that?"

"Wasn't planning to."

"What if it's Ashton and he needs you?"

"He doesn't need me tonight."

"Just check it, will you?"

"I will if it'll make you feel better." He rolled onto his back and pulled the phone from his pocket.

"Who's it from?"

"Mari."

"Oh." Kate regretted pus.h.i.+ng him to look at it. "What does it say?"

Sighing, he said, "Dear Reid, I know today is your birthday, so I hope you're doing something fun. I wanted to tell you how sorry I am for everything that happened after we broke up. I'm ashamed of my behavior as well as the trouble I caused for you and Kate, and I'm hoping you can find it in your hearts to forgive me. Wherever you are and whatever you're doing, I hope you're happy. Sincerely, Mari."

"Wow. How do you feel about that?"

"It's nice of her to apologize, but I don't want to think about her tonight. I don't want to think about anything or anyone but you."

"You should drop the complaint against her."

"After all the trouble she caused for you with that video?"

"Let it go. She can't hurt us anymore, and we have nothing to gain by hurting her."

"She ripped up my son's baby picture."

"Don't you have others?"

"Yes, but that was one of my favorites."

"Let it go."

"Do I have to?"

Kate bit her lip to keep from laughing and nodded.

Begrudgingly, he keyed in a text and showed it to her when he was done. To Ashton, he'd written: See to dropping the charges against Mari, will you? She apologized, so Kate says I have to let it go. Thanks. "Happy now?"

"I'm very happy now, but I could be even happier."

"Is that right?" He tossed the phone onto the floor and turned over to face her. "What can I do for my lovely wife?"

She tugged at his tie, pulling it loose and going to work on his s.h.i.+rt b.u.t.tons. "You've been holding out on me."

"Have I?" He smoothed a hand over her silk-covered hip, drawing her in closer to him.

"Uh-huh."

"It wasn't for lack of wanting you."

"No?"

His lips hovered a fraction of an inch above hers. "I've been dying for you, missing you, wanting you. Like I did for all the years you were gone."

"I'm here now, and I'm all yours."

He made fast work of helping her out of her wedding dress, his eyes popping-as she'd hoped they would-when he encountered the garter belt and thong combination she'd worn under it. "Are you trying to kill me on our wedding night?"

Kate laughed and pushed his s.h.i.+rt off his shoulders.

With a hand under her, he released her sheer, strapless bra, pus.h.i.+ng it out of the way so he could feast on her b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

She gasped and arched her back to get closer to him. "Reid..."

"What, honey?"

"Don't go slow. Not this time. I need you."

He freed himself from his pants, pushed the thong aside and entered her in one swift stroke.

"Yes," Kate said on a moan.

He propped himself up on his elbows and gazed down at her. "Is that what you wanted?"

"Yes. You're what I wanted. I wanted you so badly for so long."

Gathering her close to him, he kissed her without breaking the intense eye contact. "I wanted you just as badly."

Kate wrapped her legs around his hips, making him groan and throb inside her.

He moved slowly and deliberately, letting the antic.i.p.ation build until Kate almost couldn't bear it. And then he began to move faster, gripping her shoulders as he pushed her harder and higher, higher than she'd ever gone before.

"Kate, G.o.d, I love you. I love you."

The words, uttered gruffly against her neck, shattered what remained of her control. She cried out as the shock waves consumed her entire body. She came down from the incredible ride to find one hand fisted in his hair and the other clutching his backside.

Reid rode the storm of her climax and then let himself go, too. Afterward, he rested on top of her, breathing hard. "I'd hoped to show a bit more finesse the first time I made love to my wife, but you've got me feeling like a randy teenager with my pants around my knees."

Kate laughed at the disgusted face he made. "I adored the way you made love to your wife for the first time."

"I'll do even better the next time," he said with a kiss. "And the time after that."

"I can't wait to see how you top this."

"I can't wait for everything."

"Me, too." She brushed the hair back from his face and brought him down to her for more of the kisses she loved so much. "Thank you for giving me the life I've always wanted but didn't know how to find without you."

"Believe me, darlin'," he said with a s.e.xy grin as he pressed his hips tighter against her, "it was absolutely my pleasure."

Kate held him as tightly as she could, delighted to have found her way back to him and content to know they had the rest of their lives to spend together.

Acknowledgments.