Their Wicked Wedding (The Cunningham Family, Book 5) E-Book

Ember Casey

• Herausgeber: Ember Casey
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019

Beschreibung

From USA Today bestseller Ember Casey comes the Cunningham wedding you've been waiting for...

The promise of forever...

At long last, Lily Frazer and Calder Cunningham are finally tying the knot. And they've returned to the Cunningham estate for the chance to say their vows in the place where their love began.

The Cunningham estate brings back memories both sensual and bittersweet for the couple, but Calder and Lily are determined to replace the shadows with hope and love -- and grow closer to Calder's sister Lou and her partner Ward Brannon in the meantime.

But when a mysterious stranger approaches Calder, everything he thought he knew about his family comes into question. Suddenly the secrets of a lifetime are threatening to destroy everything he holds dear...

Leseprobe

Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Books by Ember Casey

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Epilogue

A Cunningham Christmas excerpt

More Books by Ember Casey

About the Author

Their Wicked Wedding

THE CUNNINGHAM FAMILY

BY EMBER CASEY

Copyright ©2014 Ember Casey

All Rights Reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Cover Image © Sonyachny, used under license from Depositphotos, Inc.

You can contact Ember at [email protected].

Website: http://embercasey.com.

BOOKS BY EMBER CASEY

THE CUNNINGHAM FAMILY

His Wicked Games

Truth or Dare

Sweet Victory

Her Wicked Heart

Take You Away

Lost and Found

Completely (short story)

Their Wicked Wedding

A Cunningham Christmas

Their Wicked Forever

THE FONTAINES

The Secret to Seduction

The Sweet Taste of Sin

The Lies Between the Lines

The Mystery of You

The Thrill of Temptation

ROYAL HEARTBREAKERS

Royal HeartbreakerRoyal Mistake

Royal Arrangement

Royal Disaster

Royal Escape

THE DEVIL’S SET

Jackson

STANDALONE NOVELS

The Billionaire Escape Plan

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CHAPTER ONE

LILY

In seven days, I will be Lily Cunningham.

Even after everything we’ve been through together, even after nearly a year of engagement, it still seems unreal that Calder Cunningham and I will be getting married next Saturday. I’ve looked forward to this day for so long that I’m almost afraid to believe that it’s nearly here. That I’ll finally be his wife.

I look down at my hand, at the engagement ring that still shines as brightly as it did the night Calder gave it to me in this very apartment. In seven days, I’ll have a second ring on this finger, one that symbolizes the promise of a lifetime.

“Are you ready?” Calder says behind me.

I turn to find him coming out of our bedroom, his suitcase in his hand. He’s in a button-down and dark slacks—a casual look for him, but one that’s still undeniably sexy—and his hair is still just the slightest bit damp from his shower. His dark eyes meet mine, and I feel that little thrill that always courses through my blood when we lock gazes. Even after all this time.

Seven days.

“I’m ready,” I say. More than ready. So ready I feel like I might burst. I’ve spent the past week packing and unpacking my suitcase, anxiously reassessing every single thing I might need. And I’m the furthest thing from a bridezilla you can get. I glance down at my ring again.

Calder’s in front of me now, and he brushes his fingers against my cheek. For a minute he says nothing, and his eyes continue to bore into me. I know he can read all of the emotions on my face, see every bit of nervous, joyous excitement in my expression. I close my eyes. Calder’s hand curls around the side of my face, and his fingers thread through my hair.

“We could just elope,” I say. “Hop on a plane tonight. Fly off to somewhere exotic. Forget everything else.”

He chuckles. “That suggestion doesn’t become any less cliché the more you say it.” But his fingers still. “That’s not what you really want, is it?”

There’s the slightest uncertainty in his voice, and I realize I’ve teased him too often about the possibility of running away together. The truth, though, is that I’d do it in a heartbeat. I’d forget about the dress and the flowers and all of the trappings. I never wanted any of it. I only want to be his wife. The rest doesn’t matter.

Except it matters to him.

I open my eyes and look up at him. Though Calder would never admit it out loud, he needs this. This wedding is for him. A special day where all of our friends and family will come together. His life has been in turmoil since his father died two years ago, and he finally has some stability again. He has family again. This wedding isn’t just about our love; it’s about peace and hope and all of the other things he’s found again these past few months.

And I love him too much to take that away from him.

“No, I don’t want to elope,” I tell him. “I want you. And I want to stand up in front of our friends and family and show them how much I love you.”

I reach up and loop my arms around his neck, dragging his face down to mine. My lips find his, and he growls against my mouth, pulling me hard against him.

His mouth does wicked, wicked things to me, and his tongue teases mine until I’m lightheaded. His fingers find their way beneath the back of my shirt and slide against my bare skin, sending tremors up my spine.

“I’m not ready after all,” he murmurs against my lips. “There’s one more thing I need to do before we leave.” And without waiting for my response, he scoops me up in his arms.

I expect him to take me back to our bedroom. Instead, he just carries me to our dining table and deposits me on the edge. He moves his body between my legs, forcing me to spread my thighs. And then he’s kissing me again, so thoroughly that it takes me a moment to realize he’s pushing me back toward the surface of the table. It’s not until my shoulders hit the wood that I start to squirm.

“Calder, we really shouldn’t…”

“Shouldn’t what?” His voice is low and husky. His lips move from my mouth down to my jaw, then my throat. His hands are pushing my shirt up my belly.

“We’re… going to… be late.” I barely manage the words.

“Mm. How unfortunate.”

His fingers have reached my breasts now, and he runs them across the surface of my bra, hunting for my nipples beneath the fabric. It doesn’t take him long to find them, or to roll them into much harder points between his thumb and forefinger. Even through the fabric, his touch is tantalizing.

“What about… what we discussed… last night?” I gasp.

His mouth is at my ear, and he lets his tongue explore for a minute before asking, “Was that before or after I tied you to the bed?”

My heart—which is already racing at his attentions—quickens further at the memory of the things we did last night. “After.”

“Mm. And what was that, then?” He gives one of my nipples a pinch, drawing an involuntary cry from my lips. It takes me a moment to recover and answer him.

“When we said… we’d wait… until the… wedding.”

In an attempt to make this last week before our nuptials a little more special, I’d suggested we keep things “traditional” until the wedding. And by “traditional,” I mean “stay in separate bedrooms and give up sex of any kind.” After all, we’ve been living together for nearly a year now, and this seems like a way to make our wedding night a little more special.

His chest, which is pressed on top of mine, rumbles with a chuckle.

“I don’t remember agreeing to that, little minx,” he says.

“I do.”

“Well, it was certainly only because my mind was addled from certain… pleasures.” The way he whispers that word against my neck sends shivers across my skin.

“That’s no excuse. I’m still holding you to it.”

He laughs again, deeper this time, and his eyes flash devilishly.

“I very much doubt that,” he says. “And I have no idea why you’d want to torture yourself so cruelly. Weddings are responsible for a lot of stress and anxiety, and a little physical pleasure works wonders for relieving such things.”

“I wouldn’t be torturing myself,” I retort. “If anyone’s going to be doing any torturing, it’s you.”

“Precisely.”

I can see I’m not going to get anywhere by arguing with him, which is why I have to be strong. I wiggle out of his grip, squirming my way from beneath him.

“It doesn’t matter if you agree or not,” I say. “I am sleeping alone until the wedding.”

“I’m not talking about sleeping.”

I ignore the suggestiveness of his tone, even though it makes even more blood rush to the part of me I’m doing my best to ignore right now.

“It still doesn’t change the fact that we’re already late. We told Lou we’d be there by three.”

His eyes burn into mine. “Louisa is the last person on my mind right now.”

The heat in his gaze almost undoes me, but I force myself to look away. “Do you really want to explain to your sister that you couldn’t keep your hands off of me? I’m sure she’s interested in knowing all about her big brother’s sex life.”

That does it. He pulls away from me, and I suspect some of the darkness in his cheeks is no longer from desire but from embarrassment. It’s a small victory—and only a temporary one, if I know him—but it’s enough for now.

“Come on,” I say, sliding off of the table and tugging my shirt back down. “Let’s go.”

He doesn’t say anything as we gather our suitcases. For a moment, I think he might be upset with me. But then I catch the wicked gleam in his eyes when our gazes meet, and I know this isn’t over, that my insistence on this little game has only challenged and excited him. It’s not until we’re walking through the door that he speaks.

“You know,” he says, “the next time we step through this door, we’ll be man and wife.”

Wife. I feel that word all the way down to my toes. I’m going to be Calder’s wife. In seven days.

And I have a feeling, if I’m going to resist his advances for that long, those are going to be the longest seven days of my life.

* * *

The Cunningham estate looks different.

Or maybe it’s just that this is the first time I’m coming here for a decidedly happy occasion, and not on a mission to win the money to save the Center. Or to help Calder discover the lost pieces of himself. Or to reclaim Lou.

When it comes down to it, though, there’s no place I’d rather get married. For every distressing memory I have of this place, there’s a good memory, too. This estate brought us together. And there’s no better place to pledge our love to each other. At the invitation of Lou and Ward, we decided to spend the whole week up here. We’ll be forgoing a traditional honeymoon, at least for the time being, but the place feels so far removed from the “real” world that I’m not sure I’ll even notice.

I peer out the window as Calder pulls the car down the long driveway. I haven’t spent much time at the estate since Edward Carolson tried to convert this place into a luxury resort, and I suppose, at first glance, not that much has changed. As I study the grounds outside my window, I can’t quite put my finger on what’s different, but I sense that difference all the same. They’re missing something of that enchanted, overgrown quality I used to love about this place—but I tell myself that’s just because it’s only March. Maybe later in the year, when the gardens are in full bloom, they’ll look the way they do in my memory.

But the house looks different, too. I know that Carolson had several of the wings converted—the stables are now supposedly a spa—but even ignoring the major structural differences, something just seems off. Things look too new, too shiny. The house has lost some of its dark charm.

I glance over at Calder. We haven’t talked much about the changes to the estate, and I wonder if he senses the differences as acutely as I do. How could he not, when this place was once his home? But his face reveals nothing.

He must sense my stare because he suddenly looks over at me. “Are you okay?”

I smile. “Of course. I was just thinking about how different this place looks.”

He doesn’t say anything as he pulls around the house. But he doesn’t need to. So much has changed since that stormy night when I broke onto the estate, and I’m not just referring to the house or the grounds. Calder and I are different people now, too.

“It’s still beautiful,” I say softly, pressing my fingers against the window. All of the gorgeous Gothic-inspired architecture is still there. You can still see the charmingly creepy little gargoyles peering over the edge of the roof. The arched windows with their dark glass still seem to suggest that all manner of secrets are hidden inside.

“It might look a little different,” Calder says, “but it’s still the same. And it will feel even more like home now that we’re all here again.”

And he’s right. This is our chance to reclaim this place, to make it ours again. To make it a place of love and family, instead of a shiny resort.

I reach over and place my hand on his thigh as he parks the car. He seems to appreciate the gesture, and as soon as the car has stopped, he closes his fingers over mine and gives me a smile that melts me from the inside out.

Yes, we’re going to restore this place to what it was. Give it a heart again. This is the Cunningham estate. And no matter what it looks like, no matter what changes, it will always be the Cunningham estate.

He raises my hand to his lips and kisses my fingers one by one. His eyes darken a little with every brush of his lips, and I know I’m in trouble—until his cell phone goes off, saving me.

“It’s probably Lou wondering where we are,” I say, tugging my hand back to safety.

Calder fishes his phone out of his pocket, glances down at the screen, and shakes his head. “No. It’s not a number I recognize.”

“Are you going to answer it?” This isn’t the first time he and I have been interrupted by an unknown number—and the last time, the caller turned out to be his sister Louisa, who then proceeded to show up at our apartment on the night of our engagement. Not that he has any other siblings who might suddenly pop into our lives. But it might be a client trying to reach him.

Calder, though, shakes his head. “If it’s important, they can leave a message. As you said, I suspect my sister is getting impatient.”

And indeed, we’re not even out of the car before I see Lou barrel out the front door and down the wide stone steps.

Okay—maybe barrel isn’t the right word. Lou is currently about eight months pregnant, and her gait is really more of a quick waddle, though there’s no mistaking the excitement in her steps as she comes toward us. But she also moves with the grace of someone who’s fully embraced the changes to her body. Sometimes it shocks me how quickly everything has happened these past few months.

Lou gets to me first, and I drop my bag so that I can hug her—taking care to bend around her growing belly, of course.

“You’re late,” she says. “But I’m guessing my brother is to blame for that.”

She squeezes me tightly before letting me go and turning to Calder. After all the craziness of last year was behind us, Lou and I grew close fairly quickly. I’ll be the first to admit that we had a bit of a rocky start, and that my initial impression of her wasn’t exactly favorable, but somewhere along the way—I think, perhaps, the moment Calder and I had to bail her out of jail for punching Asher Julian—I realized that she might not be so very different from her brother. And with all of the recent changes in Lou’s life—the baby not the least of them—I think she needs a female friend.

She and Calder, naturally, have had a very different sort of relationship these past few months. There were months—years, even—of misunderstandings between the two of them, but there was also a shared pain. Neither is used to relying on the other, or sharing their feelings with the other, but that’s changing. And it’s beautiful to see.

Lou reaches up and hugs Calder. He still moves a little stiffly to return the embrace—this man whose arms always seem to slide so easily, so readily around me has never quite mastered the art of familial displays of affection—and if I dare say it, he holds her longer than I’ve ever seen him hold her.

Until suddenly he jerks back.

“What was that?” he says.

Lou is grinning. “The baby, silly.” She grabs his hand and tries to place it on her belly, but Calder pulls out of her grip.

His sister rolls her eyes.

“It’s just a baby,” Lou teases. “Try not to look so scared. You might have one of your own sometime soon.”

Calder shoots a startled look in my direction, and I give a small shake of my head.

“I’m not pregnant,” I assure him. “But I might be someday.”

I can’t read his reaction. This isn’t the first time I’ve thought about it—heck, it’s impossible not to think about it when you’re engaged to the guy and going at it like lustful little rabbits every chance you get—but we’ve only discussed it a handful of times. I know we both want kids in the future, but the when part of that equation is still up in the air. I want to enjoy married life for a while before we bring a child into this world. But that doesn’t keep me from imagining Calder with a dark-haired little baby in his arms…

He’s staring at me, and I quickly look away, wondering if he’s guessed my thoughts. We’ll have plenty of time to discuss that later. In the meantime, we have a wedding to survive.

“Where’s that fellow of yours?” Calder asks his sister. He seems eager to change the subject.

Lou pokes her brother in the arm. “He has a name, you know. But he’s off working on something special for the two of you.”

“Something special?” I say.

She grins. “It’s a surprise. For after the wedding. But in the meantime, I have lots else to show you. You should see some of the work he’s done around here. He’s been working with the local historical preservation society to restore as much of the original architecture as possible.” Her pride shines right through her words.

I haven’t had the chance to get to know Ward as well as I have Lou, but anyone who would endure the paparazzi and worse to stay by her side might just deserve her. I still remember the look on his face when he found us after Edward Carolson’s funeral and told us Lou had been arrested. It was the face of a man who would have done anything for the woman he loved.

And he’s given her back her childhood home. Given Calder and me the chance to start the next phase of our lives in the same place where our love began.

Calder’s feelings about the man are a little more complicated, of course. But Calder was never going to warm quickly to the man having an unplanned baby with his younger sister. I’m pretty sure it’s part of some sort of big brother code.

“Your rooms are all ready,” Lou says. “I’ve put Calder back in his old room, and Lily, you’re overlooking the rose garden.”

Calder frowns. “I told you we didn’t need separate rooms.”

“It was the bride’s orders,” Lou replies. She shoots me a wink. “The bride’s word is law.”

Calder’s eyes sharpen at me, but I just stick my tongue out at him. I’m taking this tradition seriously. If he thinks I’m going to climb into bed with him every night and give him the opportunity to change my mind, then he doesn’t know me very well.

“Oh, this is going to be fun,” Lou says with a laugh. “Come on, you two.”

She turns to lead the way, leaving me face-to-face with Calder. He leans forward and yanks me against him. His mouth moves to my ear.

“Don’t think you can escape me that easily,” he says roughly. “We have a week until the wedding. That’s a very, very long time.” He slides his hand along the curve of my ass, his fingers slipping between my legs from behind and pressing the fabric against me.

“A very long time,” he repeats, increasing the pressure of his middle finger until I gasp. And then just like that, he releases me. And the look he shoots me before following his sister sends a flood of warmth to my core.

Oh, yes. This is going to be a very long week.

CHAPTER TWO

CALDER

Lily should know better than to tease me.

It’s clear by the end of our first night back at the estate that she means to have fun with this little “arrangement” of ours. It’s all a game to her—the looks over dinner, the brush of her fingers against my leg beneath the table, the lilt in her voice when she says she thinks it’s time for her to go back to “her” room. You’d think, though, that given our history, she’d know better than to challenge me. Or that she’d at least have the sense to recognize that she’s woefully outmatched.

Oh, she knows how to arouse my imagination—I’ll give her that. By the time dinner is over and we’re heading back upstairs, I’ve imagined myself taking her in a dozen different ways. Hell, my cock has been aching since this afternoon, when I had her writhing and panting beneath me on our dining table. Being back in this house only increases my hunger because it reminds me of how this all began. I’m tempted to suggest a game of Hide and Seek and see how she responds.

But who am I fooling? I know exactly how that will play out. She’ll accept my offer—she won’t be able to resist—and though she’ll put up a challenge for a little while, she’ll ultimately let me catch her. And catch her I will. I’ll grab her and push her up against the wall, maybe shove something in her mouth as I did the first time we played together. I’d torture her with my lips until her body trembled with need, tease her with my fingers until she was wet and wanting. Her sweet body would be ready for me. She’d be dripping and quivering and hot to the touch. She’d moan around her gag and rub herself against my hand.

But the minute I reached for my zipper, the minute I made any sign that this might lead to more than teasing, she’d pull away from me. She’d remind me of our infuriating arrangement, even as her flesh trembled for me. She’d leave us both aching and empty.

She just enjoys making me work, the little minx. She knows I’ll spend the entire week trying to seduce her into submission. Unfortunately, she seems to have forgotten that I always win these little games.

I don’t say a word to her as we climb the stairs. She’s a few steps ahead of me, and she’s swaying her hips more than usual—a subtle invitation, but I’m not about to fall for her tricks, even if suddenly all I can think about is how much I’d like to bend her over and explore her curves in much greater detail. We’ve never had sex on the stairs before. I’d take her on her knees first, then flip her over and try it again with her on her back.

I wonder if she has any idea how aroused I am right now. We’ve reached the top of the stairs, and she turns her head slightly, looking back over her shoulder at me. The look in her eyes says it all. She knows exactly what she’s doing to me, the temptress. I bet she expects me to follow her right into her bedroom.

But when we reach the place where she’ll be sleeping—a suite that my family used to use as guest rooms—I show her who’s in control.

“Goodnight, Lily,” I say. I lean over and give her a quick kiss on the lips. It’s so light it could hardly be considered a peck.

She gives a little gasp of surprise at the chasteness of my farewell. Unfortunately, that sound only makes my cock harden further. I want to make her gasp again. I want to make her gasp when I’m buried inside of her.

But I push those thoughts aside and straighten.

“I’ll see you in the morning,” I tell her.

I turn away from Lily before I betray myself. No, I won’t fall into her trap tonight, but I plan on setting one for her in the morning, when her guard is down again.

Her gaze follows me all the way down the hallway. I can feel the force of it against my back, but I don’t turn around. Let her wonder what’s come over me. I’m not going to let her toy with me even if my body has other ideas.

My entire groin aches by the time I reach my room, and I quickly shut and lock the door behind me. My tie is off in a matter of seconds, then my belt.

This room has changed a lot since I lived here. These might be the same four walls, and my sister might have decorated it to look the way it did before, but it hasn’t been my room for some time.

And it will never be myroom again.

While we’re here, I can pretend that nothing has changed. That I was never forced out of this estate, that Edward Carolson never tried to turn this place into a mega-resort. It might feel like the estate has come back to the family, but it hasn’t really, has it? Louisa might live here, but she has no stake in the ownership. And she won’t, as long as she and that man remain unmarried. Is that why the two haven’t wed, despite the fact that she’s carrying his child? Because he doesn’t want the Cunningham family to snatch this place away from him?

That question simmers in my mind as I prepare for bed. But maybe it’s Lily’s actions of this evening—or maybe it’s just that this room does have an effect on me, in spite of the fact that it’s no longer mine—but my thoughts have started to move in a different direction by the time I climb into bed.

Many things have changed about this place, but that doesn’t change the memories.

And I have a few very pleasant memories of Lily and this room. The sort of memories that make my cock start to harden again.

Even though I’m sleeping alone tonight, I’ve climbed into bed naked, as I always do. I lean back on the pillows and close my eyes, trying to ignore the dull, throbbing need in my body. If I’m going to survive this week—or at the very least, however many days it takes for Lily to give in to me—I’m going to have to learn to be strong. I can’t just go indulging every urge that comes over me.

But really—who am I kidding?

Within minutes, I’ve given up the fight. I’m stroking myself, trying to ease the ache.

Once, Lily watched me do this very thing from the secret passageway behind these walls. She’s recounted that night in great detail to me since, and just the memory of the way her cheeks flush when she tells me how she touched herself makes my cock jump in my hand. My hand quickens as I imagine her watching me, imagine her fingers slipping down between her legs to that warm, wet place that I know so well.

The place I’d be right now if we weren’t playing this ridiculous game.

But I know how to break her. And I intend to take great pleasure in it. I’ll have her squirming beneath me again well before our wedding.

I’m breathing roughly now and growing harder by the minute with the thought of the things I’ll do to her. I’m so focused on my thoughts of her soft heat that I almost don’t hear the floor creak. In fact, I’m sure I don’t—but something in my body is aware of it all the same. I freeze, and though I can’t make out a sound, I can sense her. My naughty minx is here, watching me.