I look up as Josh grabs my wrist, shuddering when I see how dark his eyes are. His chest is heaving, and I can feel more than see him shake as he holds onto me.
He steps a little closer to me, close enough so that I can feel him straining against me, low on my stomach. I feel my insides quiver in response. I've never wanted him more than I do right now. No—it's not just want. I need him.
"Your turn," he says, his voice low and gravely. "Show me."
It takes a moment for me to register what he's asking; I pull my wrist out of his grasp and turn, lifting my arm to show him the zipper hidden on the side of my dress. I watch him as he focuses all of his efforts on pulling the zipper down, his hands actually shaking as he struggles to not tear the thing in the process.
I let out a breath when he's finally done; he tugs at the dress and it gives way without a fight, pooling at my feet in a silky puddle. He groans and drops to his knees, pressing his face to my stomach as he wraps his arms around my hips. I can feel his breath, hot and damp, against me, and I grab onto his shoulders, holding myself up.
"I love you," he whispers, his lips trailing across my stomach in an open-mouth kiss. "I love you so much."
Tears spring to my eyes, and I bite my lip, trying to force them back. This is not the time for crying, no matter how sweet he's being. I slide one of my hands through his hair, making it stick up more than usual. "I love you, too," I answer, hoping he can hear me.
He tilts his head back, giving me a tremulous smile. It hits me all over again just how huge this is. We just got married. After all this time, after all we've been through, we've finally stopped fighting it. We're in this together for the long haul. And it's a big deal. We're bound together for eternity. It was just about the most impulsive thing I've ever done, and nothing has ever felt more right.
I give him a little tug and he stands slowly, his lips sliding across my skin. He pauses at my bare breasts, his hands coming up to carefully cup them. "No bra," he breathes, a statement more than a question.
"Didn't fit under the dress," I answer with a shrug, the words barely leaving my mouth before he has his mouth wrapped around my nipple, his teeth scraping gently across my sensitive flesh. I hiss and tighten my grip on him. One of his arms wraps around my back, pulling me closer, and his other hand slides down my hip, tugging at the lacy scrap of underwear I have on. Truly, there was no way to fit much of anything under this dress, and his reaction to me now makes me glad I didn't bother to try.
He switches to other nipple, and all I can do is let out a moan, my head falling back. His mouth is incredibly skilled, which doesn't come as any great surprise, all things considered.
He straightens a little, his lips moving up my chest to my neck. His hands go to my neck and I feel him fumbling with the clasp of the beautiful necklace he gave me as my "something blue." He kisses the underside of my jaw and steps away from me, placing it carefully on the nightstand. I take that moment to carefully gather up my dress and drape it across the armchair in the corner of the room. Within seconds, Josh's arms are around me, his fingers tickling up and down my torso. I lean into him, my head falling back to rest on his shoulder as his hands travel up and down my body, exploring slowly. He cups my breasts again, kneading softly. One of his fingers carefully explores my belly button, my muscles twitching in response. His hand dips beneath the edge of my panties and he strokes me gently. I buck against him anyway, pushing my hips against his touch. He presses his lips to my neck at the same moment I feel one of his fingers slide into me. My knees go weak for a few seconds as I gasp, and his arm tightens around me to keep me upright.
He doesn't tease me about my response, nor does he gloat about his apparent prowess. He just maneuvers another finger into me, keeping his touch gentle but somehow also insistent. I push my ass into him, rubbing against his erection. His entire body tenses and he nips at the skin of my neck in response.
While he's momentarily distracted, I turn in his arms, unfortunately dislodging his magic fingers in the process. I push at his boxers, shoving them over his hips and let gravity handle the rest as they drop to the floor. I wrap my hand around him, stroking him gently. He lets out a shuddery breath and presses his forehead to mine, letting me explore his body. We've done a little bit of this before now, and we have nothing but time beyond tonight to investigate every square millimeter of each other's bodies. I don't think either of us will be able to handle much more of this foreplay before we combust, but the need to touch him is overwhelming.
"God, Donna," he whispers, his fingers suddenly digging into my hips. I swallow heavily but don't say anything in return. He feels amazing, his skin hot and velvety, reacting to my touch in ways that make me almost insane with desire.
He pushes at my underwear; I can tell he's getting impatient. I don't move to help him and instead just focus on stroking him, now with a little more pressure. With a grunt, he pulls away from me and we stare at each other, both breathing heavily. A moment later, he yanks my panties down and I step out of them automatically, kicking them out of the way. Our arms wrap around each other instantly, our lips meeting in a desperate kiss.
I feel him turn me and push me backward, my knees hitting the edge of the bed. I give him a tug, trying to pull us both down, but he stands firm. "Wait, wait, wait," he mumbles against my mouth.
"Why?" I ask, starting to feel impatient myself.
He pulls away from me again, yanking back the comforter on the bed. Red rose petals go fluttering all over the room and he gives me a sheepish smile, shrugging. "The flowers look really romantic, but I figure they'll probably get stuck to a whole bunch of places."
I bite my lip, but a snort bursts out of me anyway. I cover my mouth but it's no good. I start laughing almost uncontrollably at the mental image of the two us covered in sweat and rose petals, and the places we'd find them for days to come. He starts to chuckle, too, breaking out into laughter a moment later. I wrap my arms around him and we hold onto each other as we shake with the giggles.
"You okay over there?" he manages to ask, getting himself a bit more under control before I do.
I look into his eyes, smiling broadly. "This is the marriage that I want."
He tilts his head, looking confused. "What do you mean?"
"This!" I exclaim, laughing again. "The absurdity. We're standing buck naked in the middle of our hotel room on our wedding night in hysterics over the thought of where we'd find those petals in the morning, or the day after that. I want things to be stupid like this sometimes."
"Well, you're in for a treat, because I'm pretty sure I can make things stupid a lot of the time."
"I'm sure we'll both manage to bring the stupid, Josh. I just want us to be able to laugh at ourselves. I don't ever want us to stop being friends."
He grins at me, deep dimples forming in his cheeks. He pushes a piece of hair behind my ear before cupping my face, his thumb stroking my cheek. "Well, it's very friendly of you to let me see you naked."
"I am friendly that way," I answer, stepping a little closer to him.
"I have a few ideas of how you could be even friendlier."
"Do tell."
His mouth finds mine again, kissing me slowly. We're both still smiling.
He gives me a gentle nudge and the backs of my knees hit the bed again. This time, we lower ourselves together until we hit the mattress, shifting until we get situated. He drapes himself partially on top of me, one of his legs in between mine, his arm wrapped under my shoulders to hold me close. His other hand slides across my body, moving gently over my nipples, skimming across my clavicle then down my sternum. He strokes my stomach, his fingers sliding low, and my hips shift toward him of their own volition. He traces the inside of my thigh and I let out a frustrated noise, needing the contact. He smiles at me again, a little less broadly this time, his eyes a bit more serious. I lean up, pressing my lips to his throat. He hums in happiness, the vibrations tingling against my lips. Slowly, tenderly, he strokes his fingers down me, making me shudder.
