Page 88 of Second Chance Fate

Caleb felt her inner walls clench down on him, and it nearly undid him. He gritted his jaw, desperate to hold back a few seconds longer, but her body gripped him like a vise—slick heat squeezing him with every ripple of pleasure humming through her. Taylor’s entire form trembled and quaked.

The control he’d worked so hard to maintain snapped like a brittle thread. His own orgasm hit with the force of a seismic event—heat coiling deep in his belly before detonating outward in an explosive rush that left him gasping for air. His vision whited out for an instant as pure sensation overtook everything else, pleasure wracking him so intensely he lost himself in it as the relentless rush of his orgasm ripped free.

He buried himself deep inside her as his climax overtook him; his hands clamped down on her hips, holding tight to anchor them both as he pulsed inside of her in hot spurts.Caleb’s moan was strangled and rough as he spilled into her until the aftershocks settled through every nerve ending.

For a suspended moment, neither of them moved—still joined together under the relentless hiss of the showerhead—both recovering from the intensity. Taylor’s breath came in shallow gasps, each one shuddering through her small frame; Caleb buried his face in the curve of her neck and just held her, his heart hammering so loud and strong in his chest he was sure she could hear it and feel it.

His grip on reality returned slowly. The world reassembled itself around them with startling clarity: the warmth of Taylor’s skin beneath his palms; the sting of hot water running over their bodies; his own ragged breathing softening into something more human.

Lifting his head, he brushed Taylor’s wet hair to the side and pressed a kiss to the slope of her neck that meets her shoulder—a silent thank you or maybe an apology for how absolutely wrecked she’d just made him.

Reluctantly, he pulled himself out of her. If it were up to him, he’d happily remain inside of her for the rest of his life. She turned around to face him, and her lids appeared heavy as she blinked slowly.

“Was that too much?” He brushed her hair off her face. “Are you okay?”

Her smile pulled at the edges of her lips, and her eyes lifted to meet his. They were glassy in appearance, and if he didn’t know any better, he’d swear that she was drunk. “I’m great. In fact, I’ve never felt better.”

He loved that he was the one who put that intoxicated smile on her face. And hereallyloved that he had a legally binding document saying he had the honor of being the man who got to put that smile on her face every day for the rest of his life.

27

Taylor leaned forwardand used her finger to wipe off the excess lip liner. She was starting to regret not taking Viv up on her offer to do her makeup. She only declined because Viv was so very pregnant, and she looked very uncomfortable. Taylor didn’t want to have her do anything like that when the ceremony was so small, and it wasn’t even a real wedding. They were technically already married. So why was she so nervous?

She straightened back up and stared at her reflection in the mirror above the chest of drawers in Caleb’s childhood bedroom. His mom had offered to let her get ready in their room, but she felt more comfortable in Caleb’s space. She’d ordered a wedding dress on Amazon; it was under a hundred dollars, and it arrived the night before at 10:00 p.m. When she tried it on, she was relieved that it fit like it had been tailored specifically to her measurements. It was a simple white satin gown with a scoop neck, spaghetti straps, a fitted bodice, and a high slit on her right leg. Her hair fell in waves down around her face, and she had on a little bit heavier makeup than she would typically wear, but it was still on the natural side of things.

Caleb had taken Owen to pick out a suit after school the day before yesterday; he was going to be giving her away. Casper was serving as ring bearer, and Minnie was their flower girl. Caleb’s dad was going to be officiating, and Taylor felt bad that his mom didn’t have a role in the service. She’d mentioned it when they were over two nights earlier, when they told his parents that they decided to go ahead with the wedding, and she said that she had the best part of the wedding: she got to plan it. Apparently, she was somewhat of a control freak.

As Taylor smoothed her hand down the silky material on the sides of her torso, she noticed her hands were shaking. She shook them out and sighed. She had zero clue as to why she was nervous. She and Caleb were already legally married, and this wasn’t a huge wedding; it was just a small ceremony in his parents’ backyard. Still, it felt like the butterflies in her stomach had mainlined Red Bull.

There was a light knock on the door, and she jumped in start.

“Come in.” Her voice sounded two octaves higher than it usually did. It always went higher when she was nervous.

The door opened, and Caleb’s mom peeked her head in. “Is it okay if I come in?”

“Of course, yes, this is your house.”

She opened it just enough so her body could fit through the gap, she shimmied inside, and then closed it quickly as she said, “We can’t let anyone see you, especially Caleb.”

Taylor didn’t have the heart to tell her she’d asked Caleb to zip her up last night and also what he thought of the dress. Oops.

When Annie turned to face her, she gasped. Her lips pursed, and her eyes filled with tears. “Oh, Sweet Pea, you are the most beautiful bride. Absolutely breathtaking. Caleb is going to lose it. He’s going to pass out.”

“I hope not.” Taylor smiled, feeling a little, no,a lotoverwhelmed by the interaction.

All her life, when she’d imagined her wedding day, she’d envisioned her Imaginary Mom coming in and saying almost verbatim what Annie had just said to her, minus the groom passing out part. To actually hear those words from the woman who was her mother-in-law, the only maternal figure she’d ever had in her life, was a lot to process. She felt herself tearing up, but she sniffed back the emotion because, for once, she actually cared what her makeup looked like, and she didn’t want to ruin it.

“You look so beautiful, too,” Taylor returned the compliment.

Annie had texted her four dress options for the day, asking which one she thought looked best. Taylor immediately responded, telling her that the blue was her favorite, but she also really liked the light pink and the green, and she thought the yellow was probably beautiful in person but made her look a little washed out in photos. She pressed send, not thinking anything of it. And a few moments later she realized that what she said might have come off as rude. She was crafting an apology when she received a reply from Annie with four crying emojis that read,Do you know how long I’ve waited for you? I finally have my daughter! I have someone I can send four different dresses to, and they actually have an opinion on which one looks best. I have someone who will tell me if my hair doesn’t look right, or if I look washed out in a photo, or if the lipstick shade I picked out is too dark or light. I prayed for you. You’re not just an answer to my son’s prayers, you’re also an answer to mine.

“You were right about the yellow. I looked at the pictures and I was Casper the Friendly Ghost.” Annie shook her head back and forth. “I had sent the same photos to George, and he picked theyellow, but I think that’s because yellow is his favorite color.”

“I think it also might be because he thinks you look amazing in anything you wear.”

Annie grinned. “Speaking of looking amazing, I have some things for you to wear,ifyou want to wear them; if not, you will not hurt my feelings. I am only going to show them to you if you promise me that you will be honest with me if you don’t want to wear them.”

“Okay.” Taylor nodded.

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