All Good Things: The Final Fanfiction Saga

Chapter Seventeen: Taking You Home

*WARNING: This chapter is not recommended for young readers (It's rated PG-13). While it doesn't contain graphic scenes, it does have adult themes. Please be advised.

The bride took one last, long look into the mirror. She checked her hair, checked her eyes, sucked in her stomach and sighed.

She was nervous.

No sense hiding out here all night, Emma thought with a laugh. You're married now. It's all right; this isn't a sin anymore.

Still, it was bizarre. Something in her still felt like she was disappointing her parents in some way, even though she'd been an obedient, chaste girl her entire life. She even felt self-conscious in the new silk nightgown she'd received at her bridal shower.

Breathe, Emma.

She opened the door.

He was flopped on the bed, wearing flannel pajama bottoms and a T-shirt, watching ESPN on the television. The blue light reflected on his face revealed his concentration, but the second he heard movement from the bathroom, his attention was diverted.

Everything was different when she saw him, staring at her with a combination of awe and shyness. Emma literally felt her frigidity melt away as he quickly stood up and glanced over at the bed, somewhat awkwardly.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," she answered, just as softly.

He crossed over to where she was and took her hands in his. "Are you nervous? Do you want to watch TV for a while?"

It was moments like this that reminded Emma why she'd wanted to spend her life with him. She'd never heard anything so sweet in her life.

So she took one of his hands and lifted it to her lips, then touched it to her cheek.

"No," she said quietly. "I'm not nervous. Not anymore."

Her hair fell in waves around her shoulders. Her skin was smooth as porcelain, and her eyes twinkled with love for him.

Lord, how I love this woman.

He smiled crookedly. "It was a good day, wasn't it?"

She nodded. J.C. stroked her cheek and drew her closer to him with his other hand. Dipping his head until it hovered above her face, he murmured, "I love you, my wife."

"I love you too ... my husband," she whispered before his lips brushed hers. Then again.

"It sounds kind of funny, doesn't it?" Emma said.

"Calling me 'husband'? A little," J.C. replied while lowering his mouth for another kiss.

"So does 'wife.' It makes me feel kind of old," she confessed.

"Mmm hmm." He was trailing his lips down her neck now.

"We're stuck with each other forever, you know," Emma said, giggling as he tickled her collarbone.

"I know," he mumbled, dropping her outer robe from her shoulders. "But you know what?"

"What?"

"It's not so bad," he said, looking up at her as he slowly lowered one ivory strap. "There are benefits to being stuck with each other."

"Such as?"

"Nothing I care to discuss at this present moment," J.C. said, trailing kisses from her bare shoulder up her neck and around her jawline to her mouth.

Emma stopped talking when their lips made contact, and relaxed in his strong arms as they wrapped around her waist, drowning her in her own intoxicating bliss. Her arms went around his neck as the kiss deepened, and she let out a soft groan when his tongue lightly touched hers, feeling her knees give out instantly.