Lexi Rogers, soon to be Lexi Kendrick, made an absolutely stunning bride. Her mane of vibrant red hair was twisted up, and soft curls fell in every direction. Pearls adorned the style, matching the beading in her gown. Wispy tendrils surrounded her face that was flushing with excitement. Tears burned the backs of Elena's eyes. She’d never seen someone more in love or happier.Well, that wasn’t correct.When Elena looked in the mirror that morning, she saw the same glazed eyes and soft, distracted smile, and it scared her. How absolutely annoyingly stupid she had been. She'd slept off in Chandler's arms after he'd given her a second orgasm the previous night, and when she woke up that morning, he wasn't in bed with her. She assumed he'd snuck out later in the middle of the night, and she didn't know if she should be mad about it, or grateful because Emily had barged into the room minutes after she woke up. If Chandler had been there, they'd have had some serious explaining to do, and
“You are incredibly sexy, Elena,” he said, his pace picking up.Her body started to convulse at those words and her mouth opened. Sensing she was about to let out an ear-piercing scream, he clamped his other hand down on her mouth, silencing her. Bliss washed over her as she came, her body pulsing around his. Their bodies were reluctant to calm down and part. Her heart was pounding and Chandlerwas still moving his hand slowly, causing little aftershocks to zip through her.There was a knock on the door and then one of the groomsmen's voice booming through the walls. “Five minutes until the wedding starts, Chandler. Time to put the cock away.”Elena's face flooded with heat. “Oh my God…”Chandler chuckled. “Ignore him.”“I’m going to die of embarrassment.”“No, you’re not.” He kissed her cheek again and then moved his hand once more, causing her to catch her breath. “Damn,” he groaned after several moments passed. He eased his hand out of her panties, kissing her cheek. “Now I need a
Chandler sauntered toward her, and he stopped just out of arm's reach. "Agnes is a cat."Elena blinked up to his face. "What?""Agnes is Paul's horrible, evil, mean-tempered cat that hates every human being except him. And he can't remember how much food he put in her automatic feeder, so he's afraid she's going to starve to death before he can get home.""Oh," Elena said weakly.Chandler smiled. "Yeah, baby, oh indeed,""So, we're ... driving out into a snowstorm to check on a cat who lives out in the middle of nowhere."His nod was slow. "It looks like it."Elena looked around. Snow was already sticking to the ground. Tree branches were coated white, lending a magical air to the already stunning vista. Like a winter wonderland. Except not wonderful, not anymore since they were not going straight home. "He lives about an hour away?" she asked weakly. An hour wasn't so bad. No reason to freak out."Yeah. We better hit the road if we want to get back home on time."Elena pinched her ey
Chandler smiled. "You can say it now."Elena looked over at him. Her face was pale and drawn. "Say what?"Lifting his eyebrows, he waved a hand at the windshield."Ahh." She cleared her throat. "I'll save the I told you so for when we're safely inside his place."The back end of the car fishtailed when he turned down the long driveway.Knowing not to overcorrect, because the last thing he wanted was to end up sliding off the drive and down the slight ditch that he knew lined the first fifty feet or so, he lessened the pressure of his hands on the wheel until the vehicle righted itself. Now that they were protected slightly by the trees that crowded Paul's property, the visibility increased to something more manageable than it had been on the roads leading them here."You gonna miss anything important tomorrow?" Chandler asked her.Elena rubbed her forehead. "Not really. I don't have any orders booked." She groaned. "Emily will probably be freaking out though."Visions of her sister be
Chandler had had his fair share of meals at that table. The couch and chair—basic and brown leather—faced a small TV on an equally small console table because when Paul was home, he was outdoors.His property was probably more than five acres of heavily wooded forests, and the entire square footage of his cabin couldn't have been more than five hundred. The soaring ceilings of the main room is what made it feel bigger than it was. The old-fashioned wood-burning stove set into the back corner gave it a warm, inviting feeling, which would get even better once he had it lit."Bedroom upstairs?" she asked.Chandler nodded. "The loft."Elena eyed the staircase warily."Don't worry," he told her. "I have a long history crashing on that couch, and I've had much worse nights of sleep than that."Elena turned and faced the part of the cabin that was all windows. It was Paul's, and Chandler's, favorite part of the cabin. Yeah, it was small, but one whole side showed the beauty of this place the
She inhaled. "Why'd you guys do that?""Who knows?" he admitted. "We were seventeen and bored, and our friends probably thought we'd be too chicken shit to do it." Elena was a loud thinker, he was coming to realize. Especially when she was trying to figure something out. And right now, she was trying to figure him out. She stared at that picture so hard, he was surprised it didn't jump off the wall. "No wonder," she murmured.He stepped closer behind her and took a slow inhale. It was stronger than it had been on the pillow, that incredible scent. He had to fight not to bury his nose in her hair, wrap his arms around her from behind, and glory in how warm and soft she'd be tucked into his body.It was so clear she wanted to put him together like a puzzle that no one had sorted. But eventually, she'd see that it wasn't as complicated as all that. He was what his family thought. A screwup and a disappointment. He was what Paul thought too. A hothead who didn't think things through."N
Over her shoulder, Elena gave him a chiding look. "I guess you've forgotten that I bake too."Chandler held up his hands with a laugh. "Touché, Princess, touché."She shook her head. "Of course I can cook and I'm good at it."Tugging a chair out from the table with his foot, Chandler took a seat and shamelessly watched her navigate around the small kitchen area."How come you and Emily do everything together and yet you and Elijah are not as close as the both of them are?"Her smile was barely visible as she stirred the sauce. "Emily and I don't do everything together… At least not anymore," Chandler thought about the picture of her and her sister from her apartment. "Did something happen?"She snorted. "Not exactly. We were ... oh," she sighed, "how do I put this?I guess after college, living in different states kinda separated us too much…More than we cared to admit," Watching as Elena tasted the sauce, then added some salt, he nodded. He could understand that. Carefully, she set
They ate quietly for a few minutes until Chandler felt like a complete asshole. It wasn't her fault, not really. Elena didn't have to try to understand why he and his stepmother had the relationship they did, and how that bled into his relationships with his father and brother. He opened his mouth to apologize, but Elena spoke first."I don't like thinking too hard about things that upset me too, so I understand." She told him, This didn't feel like the time to say anything, so he held her gaze across the table and waited. Elena twirled some pasta on her fork and took another bite. When she was done chewing, she set the fork down. "I'm not angry with you, and I don't know exactly why I want to figure you out as you put it. I guess I just… I want to know you… And understand you… That's all."Even though her words touched him, her face was so calm when she said it that he laughed."That's funny?" she asked."Not really," he admitted, then he added even though she had not asked again. "