AN: Please go back and read chapter 12 if you haven't read it yet. FF didn't send out emails like they usually do so I don't know if everyone got the notification.
This chapter does have a lemon in it- and it's the longest chapter so far in this story. Hope everyone has a nice Valentine's day, and if you're alone just curl up with Daddy Garrett ;)
A mere two weeks after Garrett's proposal, the family was traveling again to Richmond. They decided to leave Thunder at home, but promised the boys that they would be back before nightfall.
Both boys had had a haircut, and they were all cleaned up and dressed in new clothes, and their daddy was as well. Bella even had a new dress that Garrett had bought her. Made of a soft, but sturdy blue flowered fabric, it was the nicest thing she'd ever had to wear.
When she came out of her room, dressed up with her hair pulled back with a matching ribbon, Garrett forgot to breathe for a moment or two. He still couldn't believe he'd gotten so lucky as to find a mate so perfect, and so beautiful as well.
Edward was the first one to speak up surprisingly. He walked over and grabbed Bella's hand, staring up at her in awe. "You look so pretty, Momma!"
Jasper nodded enthusiastically as he finished pulling on his boots and stood up. "You sure do! You're the prettiest momma I ever seen!"
Garrett chuckled as he brushed his hand over Jasper's curls, then stepped up to take his bride's hand. "Pretty is an understatement, baby girl. You are so beautiful."
Bella ducked her head and smiled as she reached down to pick up Edward and set him on her hip. "Thank you. Are y'all ready to go?"
The family reached Richmond quickly, and this time they all walked together toward the church on the town square. It was a Tuesday morning but Garrett had arranged for the pastor and his wife to meet them there.
He had explained to Bella and the boys the necessary aspect of lying when it came to their interactions with the humans. Already, Bella looked too young to be the boys' biological mother, given that they looked like five-year-olds and she still looked sixteen.
To the humans, the boys would be Garrett's. He had been somewhere around age thirty when he was turned, and it was not out of the ordinary for a widower such as he was portraying to marry a young woman to mother his children. Garrett reminded them all that the story was just to deflect suspicion from the humans, and nothing would change their actual relationships.
Since Garrett didn't remember his human last name and had no attachment to the aliases he'd used over the years, he would be signing his name as Garrett McCarty, and Bella would take her surname as her "new" married name as well.
At the front of the church, the boys stood beside their parents as they repeated their vows. Bella giggled when she promised to obey, and she teared up at the tender look in his eyes as Garrett vowed to cherish her. She did feel cherished, every day. Everything he did for her or their boys showed just how much he loved and cherished them.
Leaving the church, Garrett led his family to the store where he'd been buying their supplies for most of the past year. He introduced them to the owner and Bella shyly displayed her ring, smiling as Garrett wrapped his arm around her proudly.
"That's a beautiful family you have there, Garrett," he said, slyly handing the boys each a piece of candy as he spoke. "You bring them back to visit with you again, you hear?"
Garrett nodded a bit sadly, knowing the boys would grow too quickly for him to bring them unless it was in the next month or two. He would have to think about moving or find another town to get supplies from if the shopkeeper continued to ask too many questions.
Looking around the store, Garrett encouraged the boys to find themselves a new toy in honor of the day. Jasper quickly found a cap gun that made Edward wrinkle his nose in distaste. He didn't mind listening to his daddy talk about his war days, but he didn't see a need to emulate them either. Instead, he pulled his momma over to a stack of children's books with a bright red cover.
Bella looked at the book, one she had never seen before. It was called The Story of Ferdinand and had a drawing of a bull on the front of it. Flipping through the story, she decided Edward would enjoy it so she picked it up and headed toward Garrett so he could buy it.
She found her new husband leaning over a barrel with the shopkeeper's wife, a rather portly older woman. His long fingers were digging through a colorful pile of ribbons, and he had several he had pulled to the side. Bella stepped up beside him and looked over to see what he was doing.
"Do you need a new ribbon for your hair, husband?" she teased, bumping her hip against his as the boys giggled brightly at her words.
Garrett growled too softly for the humans to hear, wrapping his arms around his little wife. He loved that word. His mate, his love, his wife. "No, wife," he replied, "I thought you looked so lovely with your ribbon today that I would get a few more so that I can admire you every day."
The older woman sighed with Bella at his sweet words. She'd been worried when the tall, mysterious man came in with such a young girl for a bride, but it was clear to see he already loved her dearly. She watched as he offered her ribbons and she smiled as she accepted the ones that he and the boys selected. She would be a good mother too.
Leaving the store, Garrett led them around the corner to a photographer's studio. He wanted to have a picture of his family to commemorate the day. Bella's eyes widened and her smile was the biggest he'd ever seen when she realized what they were doing there. They had a small camera at home that they used to capture the boy's growth and milestones, but a family portrait to hang on the wall was something she didn't even know she wanted.
The photographer was stunned by the family's beauty, and by how well-behaved the boys were. He talked Garrett into buying a wedding portrait along with the family one, and Bella begged for one of the boys since they were dressed up so nicely. Garrett arranged to pick up the finished prints the next week.
When they got back to the cabin, Bella and Jasper played outside with Jasper's new toy gun, and Garrett began reading Edward's new story with him. Once the sun set, they put the boys to bed, and then Garrett led Bella to their own bedroom. She froze when she saw the larger mattress ticking on the ground—big enough for the two of them. He must have set that up when she was helping the boys change clothes for bed.
Sensing her nervousness, Garrett simply took her hand and pulled her into the room. "I just want to hold you tonight, my love. That is all I am asking. I will never do anything you aren't completely ready for me to do, okay? Just lay with me."
Taking a deep breath, Bella took his hand and followed him into the room. She made sure to pull the door closed tightly behind her. Garrett was standing beside the bed, still wearing all of his clothes. He had removed his boots and socks at the door as he always did, and her eyes drifted down to his bare feet.
Like the rest of him, they were large...long. She didn't know why that thought made her feel like blushing, but she bit her lip and glanced up at him, worried that he might know what she was thinking.
The look on his face took her breath away. He was staring at her so intently, but so tenderly at the same time. The way he focused on her so completely was almost overwhelming when they were alone like this. He held out his hand and she was powerless to do anything but walk forward and take it.
When their skin connected, they both let out sighs of relief. Garrett pulled her into his arms and smiled as she tucked her head against his chest, her ear where his silent heart lay. Dropping his face, he kissed her hair, inhaling her delicious scent that had been his focus since the first day he smelled it. He rubbed his hands over her back, dipping a bit lower than he'd previously dared as she pressed closer to him.
"Come on, baby girl," he murmured quietly against her ear. "Let's lay down."
She followed his lead when he kneeled on the bed, and she watched him stretch out his long frame on the mattress and pull her down gently beside him. Instead of laying down and resting her head on his chest, Bella leaned over him and began to kiss him, deeply.
Garrett groaned as she reached up and tangled her hands in his hair, pulling just hard enough to excite him even more than he already was. He growled as he pulled her closer, forgetting to hide his erection as he usually did. When she pressed against it, she moaned quietly and began to wiggle against him.
Finding the last bit of his self-control, Garrett rested his hands on her hips and pulled back a bit. "Sweetheart, baby girl, please! I don't want to rush you. We really don't have to do anything tonight."
Bella stared at him, eyes blacker than he'd ever seen them. She moved her hips very deliberately and nipped at his lips. "We really do."
Seeing no need to continue arguing, he laid back and surrendered, raising his hands up over his head in a gesture that made her giggle at first, then she groaned as she took in his long, lean body. Not sure where her courage was coming from, she kissed him again softly and began to work the buttons on his shirt, slipping each one from its hole as she trailed her hands down his firm chest.
By the time his shirt was open Garrett was panting softly in anticipation. Bella sat back on her heels and looked down at him, pleased that he was all hers. She reached behind her and worked her own buttons open enough that she could slip her dress off. She pulled it slowly over her head and started to drop it on the floor, but then caught herself. She loved the dress too much to do that. Standing up, she walked over and draped it carefully over her reading chair, promising herself she would hang it up before it could get too wrinkled.
Garrett smiled softly as he watched her care for the dress. She was so careful with everything he bought her. She wasn't wasteful or frivolous, and it was just one more thing that he loved about her. When she turned around, wearing only a thin slip, he forgot about everything but her beautiful body.
Bella was beginning to lose her nerve, but the look on Garrett's face when she turned around gave her the courage she needed to walk back over to the bed and take his outstretched hand. He pulled her back down beside him and turned on his side to kiss her softly, worshipfully.
He pressed gentle kisses from her lips, down her neck, to the top of her breasts trying to peek out from her slip. Taking a chance, he moved his hand up her side and looked down at her face as started to cup her breast. "Is this okay?" he whispered softly.
She nodded and pressed her body up into his hand. Garrett pulled her close and captured her lips again, running his hands in long strokes all over her body. When he reached the bottom of her slip, he began to slowly pull it up, giving her time to stop him if she wanted to. She didn't.
He pulled the silky material over her head and dropped it to the floor beside him. He held her gaze as he dipped his down and captured her nipple in his mouth. She groaned again, louder this time, and he pulled back to kiss her softly.
"Shh, sweetheart, we have to be quiet or we'll wake the boys."
She nodded and leaned back over him to kiss him again. As she did, her hand snaked down his belly until she found the buttons on his pants. She opened them quickly and then looked down as her hand finished its journey south.
Garrett was almost shaking in anticipation as he moaned, "Touch me, baby girl. Touch me please!"
He followed his words with his own fingers moving from her breast down to her dark curls below. She jolted when he first touched her clit, unsure about what she was feeling and what he was doing. Her hand tightened involuntarily around his cock, and Garrett moaned again as he thrust his hips.
Knowing he needed to take care of his mate before himself, he reluctantly pulled her hand away and slid down until his face was between her legs. He looked up at her as he dipped his tongue into her folds, grinning as she reached down to grab his hair again.
"Garrett! Oh! What are you—yes!" She broke down into incoherent mumbles as Garrett's long fingers and eager tongue brought her quickly to her first release.
He turned his head a moment to listen to the boys' heart rates and make sure they weren't waking up, then he began to crawl slowly up his wife's body on his way to paradise.
He paid careful attention to her breasts on the way up, tasting each pebbled nipple, then took her mouth in a deep, dominating kiss. He lowered his body and brushed his cock against her clit while distracting her with his tongue. He wanted to give her time to accept him before he went any further.
Pulling back a bit, Garrett stared into Bella's beautiful dark eyes, thanking fate again for giving him this beautiful little woman. Nudging her entrance gently, he gave her a feather-light kiss and asked, "Are you sure, baby girl? Do you want me?"
Bella took a deep breath and nodded, smiling as she felt him start to enter her. She was a little worried this might bring her back to the night her boys were conceived, but there was no way she would ever confuse what Garrett was doing with what James did.
For starters, Garrett was incredibly warm against her own sensitive skin, and his swollen manhood was even hotter. She felt him begin to enter her, and he slid in easily, gently, despite his size—she was so wet and ready for him.
On top of that, the all-encompassing love she felt for her husband made this a sacred act, one she felt honored to share with her mate. He was holding her so carefully and staring at her as if she was the most precious thing in the world to him. She felt like crying as their bodies moved together in union.
She quickly felt herself approaching her peak again, and the feelings were even stronger with Garrett deep inside of her. She moaned and almost wailed as the pleasure rose, so she pulled Garrett down to kiss her as she rode the wave of her release.
Feeling her tighten around him, Garrett couldn't hold on much longer. The pleasure he felt finally giving himself to his beautiful little mate left him nearly sobbing as he collapsed against her.
He pulled her close and rubbed his hands over her back, sweeping her hair back out of her face as he kissed her gently. "I love you so much, baby girl. Thank you for that. That was the most beautiful thing I have ever felt."