Whipping Girl by L. Jacobs
Chapter 21 – Alexander
“Zeke! What are you doing here?” Ally asks as if it’s just a happy coincidence that he’s standing outside of the room.
“Uh...” He stalls, unsure of what he can say in front of her.
“Zeke is helping me track down Peter, I asked him to meet me before your dad called.” I reply for him, taking the envelope that he hands me and placing it in the inside pocket of my black jacket.
“You could have come in, you didn’t have to stand in the hallway.” She says, always the sweet hearted angel.
“I didn’t want to interrupt anything.” He gives my girl a wink that has her blushing and moving closer to me in embarrassment. I narrow my eyes at him, wondering if he could hear anything from inside of our room but he straightens out his features before I can get a good read. Zeke has a way about him that makes people feel comfortable, he always has. Soft smiles, small jokes, a little flirtation and by the time they figure out what he is truly capable of, it’s usually too late.
He stops outside of the hotel restaurant then nods toward the entryway doors in the lobby so I know that he’s leaving, I lift my chin in acknowledgement then continue on with Ally to find her parents. Ally squeals in excitement when we spot them already sitting in a large booth by the bar. I square my shoulders, as we walk to them, expecting Mike to put up a fight but as soon as we are within reach he stands and pulls Ally into a big hug, enveloping her entirely with his large arms. My jaw clenches automatically, I don’t like sharing... even with her family.
“You're alright?” He asks as he pulls away, searching her as if she might be missing limbs.
“Of course, Dad. I’ve never been better.” She smiles happily then steps over to her Mother, giving her a hug as well while her Father tries to murder me with his eyes. We sit down, each couple on their own side and there is a moment of tense silence before the three of them start talking, mostly them just asking a bunch of questions, Ally answers them sweetly while I keep quiet. The waitress comes over, taking our drink and lunch orders, Mike shoots me a look of disapproval when I order for his daughter but Ally doesn’t even think twice about it, she trusts that I know what she likes and I have yet to let her down. He’s pissing me off.
“Angel, you haven’t told your parents our happy news.” I paste a pleasant smile on my face but turn toward Mike with a smug look in my eyes as I continue, I feel Ally pinch my thigh but I ignore it. “Allyanna has agreed to become my wife.” His face becomes red with his anger but May places her hand over his clenched fist and squeezes, a silent message to keep quiet. I see Ally in my peripheral, not looking too happy with me but she smooths out her features quickly.
“I was going to tell them... if you had just given me a little time.” Her smile is fake, she’s shocked that I had brought it up without consulting her but she shouldn’t be. Did she really think that I was going to let her tiptoe around this?
“Oh my Gosh! This so exciting, sweetie! Do you know where you want to have the wedding? Any dates planned at all?” May seems genuine in her happiness for her daughter and I remember why I liked her so much.
“Uh- not really, he just asked me yesterday so we haven’t really talked about it much. We’ll need some time to figure out-”
“Six months. Tops.” I interrupt. I’m being generous, wanting her to have the wedding of her dreams but I’m not going to let her put this shit off.
“Six months isn’t a lot of time, Alex.” May says somewhat reproachfully. “There are a lot of plans that go into this sort of thing.”
“I’m sure the two of you can get it done, you’re both very resourceful.” I say kindly but keep a steel note of finality so they know that I’m not going to budge.
“Maybe we could just have papers drawn up... that would be more convenient, don’t you think, Alexander?” Ally says syrupy sweet, her parents presence making her brave. My cock hardens under the table, loving the challenge that she is putting forth.
“Baby, try not to talk so much... I know your throat is still pretty sore.” I say just as sweetly, watching as her breath hitches then comes out a little faster at the threat she knows is there.
“Oh no, have you been sick, Ally?” May asks oblivious, drawing my girl’s wide eyed stare away from me.
“Uh.” She clears her throat, waving her hand dismissively. “Just a sore throat, Mom, nothing to be concerned about. So what have you guys been up to?” She changes the subject, making me smile for real this time. I win.
They talk throughout the rest of lunch, her father sending me harsh glances every now and again that I once again ignore. May brings the wedding back up so they discuss possible dates and where they might look to have the event, I don’t care about any of that shit, I just want to be her husband. When we get up to leave Ally’s parents hug her goodbye while I pay the tab. I’m surprised when May walks up to me and pulls me into a tight embrace, I stand there stunned and unsure of what to do until she steps back, tears in her eyes.
“Thank you, Alex.” She whispers just loud enough for me to hear. “I can see how hard it is for you to share her and I know if the choice was between you and us then she would have chosen you… so thank you for not forcing her to choose.” She smiles warmly.
I’m not sure what to say to that, she’s right, I fucking hate sharing Ally but I am willing to make certain concessions to make sure she’s as happy as I can possibly make her. Even if some of those things make me extremely uncomfortable. I give her a small nod and return her smile with one of my own.
“Do you have to be so impossible?” Ally asks. We’ve been driving for about 15 minutes. She’s been fairly silent for most of the car ride but I didn’t push her, knowing she would talk when she needed to get it out.
“Impossible? How so?” I smirk but keep my eyes on the road. She scoffs and I see her shake her head in exasperation.
“You couldn’t have just let me bring up the engagement in my own time? It’s my family, Alexander. They should have heard the news from me.”
“I didn’t know if you would bring it up at all.” I defend. “You seemed to have a lot of excuses in your arsenal when I proposed, I figured I was helping you out.”
“That was your idea of a proposal?” I hear the disbelief in her voice and it makes me grin. “I would have told them, I was just waiting for dad to calm down a bit first.”
“You would have been waiting until the day after my funeral, your Father hates me and that isn’t going to change. You need to come to terms with that.”
“Maybe if you had asked for my hand instead of demanding it then-”
“I’m never going to ask for anyone's approval of anything when it comes to you, Angel... we spent years waiting to be free of the people that would tell us when we could or could not be together, I’m not doing that shit ever again.” I interrupt harshly. “You seemed to be pretty upset that I was jealous of your family but I think now would be a good time to point out that you didn't mind hurting my feelings by not telling them of our upcoming nuptials so you could spare your Father the upset. How do you think that makes me feel?” Maybe we should just leave this place, I could take her away from anyone that might sway her opinions of me, we could start over fresh, just Ally and me.
“I’m sorry.” She says after a moment. “You’re right. I wasn't thinking about how you would feel about it, I was only thinking about my dad’s blood pressure and that’s not fair to you. I know I haven’t really shown too much enthusiasm for our wedding, but I am excited about becoming your wife. But everything was on slow motion while we were apart and now that you’re here it feels like it’s all on fast forward so you’re going to have to forgive me for trying to put certain things on a temporary pause. I swear, Alexander, I will always hit play again as soon as I catch my breath.” I think about that for a minute, not wanting to easily concede her point but I know that she deserves it here and there.
“Alright, baby. As long as it’s my play button that you’re hitting.” I grin when she slaps my arm. “Have you and your Mother decided any of the details?”
“Um... how do you feel about it being in a church? I started going every Sunday when I moved back in with my parents. We’d have to start attending one of the-” she stops at my scoff and I look over at her in cynicism. “What?”
“The only alter I will ever get on my knees for is yours, Allyanna.” I look back to the road, only seriousness in my tone. “And the only heaven that I’ll ever get into is the one right between your legs.” As I expected she slaps my arm.
“Can you be serious?” I was being completely serious. “Why do you have to be so crude? I’m trying to make plans, I thought you would be happy about that.” She huffs, pushing my hand away from her bare thigh when I try to touch her.
“Crude? I’m being honest, if you want to do this in a church then we’ll do it in a church, I just hope that you don’t think that it’ll somehow make all of this more redeemable for me. You’re marrying a killer, a sinner, an advocate to the devil himself, do you think God will shine his holy light down upon us as long as we do it in his house?”
“I think that it wouldn’t hurt to try! I know you don’t believe in higher powers and I don’t know if I do either but... what if we’re wrong? Does it hurt us to ask for forgiveness for our sins? I know that you will scoff and laugh at all of it but I won’t stop praying for your soul, Alexander... not until my dying breath.”
“You will be wasting your breath.”
“Maybe.” She pauses long enough for me to look into her emerald eyes. “But if there is even a small chance -no matter how little- that I can spend eternity with you then I am going to pray as hard as I can that we have that chance, Alexander.” I pull over to the side of the road quickly, slamming to a halt so I can concentrate solely on her. I pull her by the neck, taking her mouth with my own in a desperate kiss, tasting her sweetness on my tongue as she matches my fervor. It isn’t until I’m a hard mass of sexual tension and she’s moaning loudly into my mouth that I pull away from her, both of us breathing heavily as I place my forehead on hers.
“I have an idea.” I husk out. “Why don’t we have our wedding in a church?” I ask with a teasing grin making her laugh breathlessly.
“That sounds like a great idea, I wish I had come up with it.” She kisses me again, this time it’s slower, more languid. “So what is this surprise?” She asks once we pull apart. I lick my lips so I can savor the taste of her a while longer, hating the fact that I can’t be inside her right now.
“I’m about to show you.” I smile back at her before putting the car in drive and pulling into the long driveway of what I hope will be our new home. Zeke actually found this listing for me and I knew as soon as I saw it that this was the place for us, it’ll be a little more difficult for us travel wise but I couldn’t get it out of my head once it was in there. I can picture her in the old but modernized kitchen, cooking meals for me and our children. I picture her padding around the hardwood floors, barefoot and pregnant, smiling as I walk through the front door. I can picture our lives in this home, I want that picture to become our new reality. I hope she can see it too.
“Oh my god, Alexander, this place is amazing!” I sigh in relief as I watch her smile brilliantly at the view. “Is this a bed and breakfast?” I laugh, keeping silent as I stop the car and cut the engine.
“You like it?” I take her hand and bring it to my lips, placing a soft kiss on her knuckles.
“Are you kidding? I love it!” She doesn’t even take her eyes off the house as she pulls her hand from mine to exit the car, she runs toward the large wrap-around, columned porch, stopping to look back at me as if to say ‘hurry up’! I chuckle as I get out and watch her excitement, she reaches the steps and runs her hand up the white railing. “Wow. You’re romantic enough to bring me here but you couldn’t even propose properly, I think maybe you need to learn how to mesh your ideas a little better.” She says as she stops at the top of the steps, throwing me a mock glare before looking around at the surrounding trees. She’s so fucking beautiful that it’s almost painful to look at her, all of my hopes and dreams in such a tiny, blond haired, green eyed package. Is it possible to love someone so much that it hurts to not be touching them? “This place is perfect, can you imagine running a place like this? Nothing could be better.” I watch the steam from her breath as she speaks, jealous that I’m not inhaling it as we come together.
“What if I told you that you didn’t have to just imagine it?” She looks at me funny, like I’m being weird. “I want you to run this place, not for strangers... but for me and someday all of our children.” She laughs as if she thinks I might be joking, turning toward the green siding as if she thinks someone will jump out and start laughing at her.
“Are you serious?” She asks breathlessly once she turns back toward me. “You want to buy this place?”
“I’ve already put in our offer.” I raise my brows, waiting for her to catch on to the fact that I am dead fucking serious.
“Oh.” She turns in a circle, looking over the house then the landscape once again. Her brows turn inward when her eyes find mine and she slowly walks down the steps until she is on the last one, still standing shorter than I am. “I guess that my only question is, how many children are we talking about?” I laugh as I scoop her up by the waist and bring her up so our eyes are level.
“Six,” I kiss the tip of her nose when her eyes become wide. “At least.” I add just to get her going.
“Ha! Three at most!” She counters, I narrow my eyes as I pretend deliberation.
“Seven.”
“Hey! That’s not negotiating, you’re supposed to be meeting me in the middle.” She slaps my arm in indignation, making me chuckle. I sober as I search her eyes, wanting to say so much more than my mouth will allow. I’m not good at overly sappy, sweet until you puke words, it’s just not my thing and I doubt that it ever will be.
“Do you have any idea how much I love you? Any clue as to the lengths that I would go to make you happy?” I hope my eyes convey how much I truly feel those words, I need her to see it. She softly smiles her ethereal smile then brings her lips to mine, speaking quietly against them.
“I know.” Her breath fills my lungs and I willingly inhale it, wanting to take her inside of me where no one and nothing could ever touch her but me. She kisses me too quickly then pulls away. “But you need to show me the inside before I agree to anything, it better be freaking spectacular if you want me to have three of your babies.” I peck her lips, grinning mischievously as I set her down so I can follow her orders.
“I think you and our eight babies will be happy with this place.” I walk up the stairs, ignoring her disbelieving huff.
“Why does the number keep going up?” She scrunches her freckled nose at me when we make it to the front door.
“I want as many duplicates of you as we can possibly make,” I pull the envelope out of my jacket pocket, retrieving the key Zeke got from the realtor. “If I’m going to make it into heaven then I’m going to need a lot of angels on my side.” I give her a wink as I unlock and open the door for her, smiling as she squeals in delight at the interior.