Page 40 of A Corruption Dark & Deadly
Chapter 10
To be honest, Annie had never had this much sex in her life. She had done it with her boyfriend in college, and then, after they broke up, rebounded with a guy a couple of times. But nothing after that. Which was perfectly fine. Annie found she could survive without sex, especially since she knew her body better than anyone. But once she got with Jericho, he seemed incapable of not touching her and it wasn’t long before they were fucking in some way, whether it was in the bed, on the couch, against a wall, in the shower. She hadn’t realized how much pleasure she could incur because of one man and she found herself wanting sex more than she had before.
But it was more than just sex with Jericho. There were actual feelings involved, despite her best efforts. He was the perfect gentleman, even though he was a notorious bad boy. She saw with her own eyes just what he was capable of doing if he felt he needed to. He did that within a couple of weeks of knowing her – he killed someone because they were going to hurt her. He hadn’t even warned him, hadn’t even fought him. It was one shot in the head with such accurate precision…
Annie was confident in his feelings as well. He claimed it was love at first sight when he saw her in his office during that fateful meeting that Bruce had all but forced her to come to. One look, and he was done for. He had even dropped hints of marrying her, which was crazy but also extremely romantic and highly illogical. Jericho was a wealthy bachelor – marrying her could risk his business and his wealth and his reputation.
But he seemed intent on taking that risk.
He told her he loved her and didn’t balk when she didn’t say it back. He looked for every reason to touch her, to hold her, to kiss her. It made her feel desired, sexy, and she had never really felt that way about herself before.
And what about her? She had changed drastically in the month since she had known him. She was less judgmental, more open-minded, more forgiving. She started to justify Jericho’s behavior and focus on the amazing qualities he had instead of thinking too much about his negative qualities. He had won her over before she even knew what he had been doing, before she even had a chance. And she wasn’t as upset about it as she could be.
Currently, she was staring at herself in a full-length mirror, ready to walk down the aisle. They had only started dating a month ago. Was she insane? Probably. But at least she knew she was acting completely idiotic. However, just because she recognized it did not prevent her from stopping herself from actually taking the plunge. He had paid for everything, of course: the last-minute venue at a gorgeous meadow just outside the city overlooking the lake, her wedding dress, their honeymoon. He told her to invite whoever she wanted, but she preferred that it would be just the two of them, like a local elopement.
She wore a simple white wedding dress, with thick straps that barely covered all of her shoulders. The neck was scooped and because the sleeves were just over her shoulders, nearly all of her collarbone and a classy hint of cleavage showed. The dress tightened at the waist and flared out at the hips. She had never been a fan of frilly dresses but this one puffed out a bit because, well, every wedding dress should puff. It was her one chance to truly feel like a princess, especially considering she was getting married to the Prince of Seattle. Her hair was down, parted down the middle, with a simple wreath of pink and white flowers over her head. To be honest, she looked like a modern hippie, which she didn’t have a problem with. Her makeup was light – pink lips, mascara, eye shadow, light blush. No eyeliner because she didn’t feel it was needed. Jericho had offered to have a makeup artist and hair stylist come out and do it so she didn’t have to worry about it, but Annie gently refused. She actually wanted to do this herself.
A gentle knock on the door indicated that it was time. She sucked in a breath. Her heart started to race. She turned to the small sink in the small room and grabbed her bouquet of white and pink roses. Her feet weren’t sore. She opted for beaded flats rather than high heels, which seemed to fit the innocence of her look more than the heels would have.
Once she had her bouquet, she opened the door and met the photographer.
“We’re ready in the field,” he told her in a low voice. He was from New York and his accent, while subtle, was still somewhat prevalent. “Jericho and the pastor are waiting. I’m to lead you to the exit and then set up. Jericho instructed me to photograph everything. We’re also filming. Do you have any questions?”
Annie could barely speak, let alone figure out if she had any questions. Instead, she shrugged and plastered a smile on her face. “I’m ready,” she told him. It amazed her that she wasn’t lying. Every bone in her body was ready for this. As crazy as it sounded, as crazy as it was, she was going to marry Jericho and she had absolutely no regrets about it.
The door opened. She took a breath.
In all honesty, the wedding ceremony wasn’t much to remember. She was glad Jericho had it recorded so they would have a copy of it for the rest of their lives. Everything happened so fast and it was hard to really stay in the moment. There were a couple of parts, however, that really stuck out in her mind. The biggest thing was the way he looked when he first saw her. She was glad the photographer snapped a picture of that because she wanted to remember that look for the rest of her life. He looked at her like she was an angel, a goddess, something to be worshiped and adored, something to treasure above anything else.
He looked deliriously handsome in his own tuxedo. Annie had no idea how he managed to find one that fit him so well in such a short amount of time. Then again, there were perks of being Jericho, she supposed. His hair was slicked back. Even his black shoes were shiny and new. Everything about him was in place. He looked flawless. He looked exactly the way she expected him to look.
When she reached him, she realized she hadn’t even thought about the fact that her father wasn’t there to walk her down the aisle. Instead of feeling guilty, she felt elated. That Jericho could distract her enough where she wasn’t saddened by her parents’ loss during her big day. Granted, they would probably question her sanity for getting married so young and with a near-stranger, but eventually, they would come around. She knew they would. Bruce, on the other hand, might be more upset.
Actually, she hadn’t spoken to Bruce since Jericho had cut him a check for five grand that night at the club, when Jericho had brought her pasta and Bruce had picked money over his sister. Even so, she still wished he was here. She still missed him.
This is stupid, she thought. Maybe I should call him. Maybe he should have been the one to walk me down the aisle.
But would he have come at all? Would he be supportive? Or would he just be happy that she was marrying the wealthiest guy in Seattle? She hated that she was so bitter but she couldn’t help it. It was hard to trust Bruce now. She wanted to but… It was hard. He hadn’t even reached out, just to see if she was okay. Surely he knew they were together, her and Jericho. Was he upset about that? Did he support it? Had he asked Jericho for more money now that Jericho and she were together, like he had some kind of right to do something like that in the first place?
Still. She wanted him here. Even if he was upset. Even if he didn’t support her.
The second thing that really got to her was the exchange of rings. There was electricity running between them. When he took her hand in his, sparks flew. She didn’t get the chance to purchase a ring for him herself. Instead, he opened a credit card for her and she purchased a simple black ring, promising to pay him back immediately.
Again, practical. Not exactly romantic.
But that was okay. Every relationship was different and she could appreciate that their relationship was much more off-kilter than ones she was typically used to.
Honestly? That was… okay. She was more okay with it than she thought she would be, but that was the power of Jericho. He had this innate ability to make people fall in love with him. He made her fall in love with him in a couple of weeks. She hadn’t really loved someone – even someone who ticked all her boxes – that quickly ever.
Was she crazy? Or was Jericho different? Was he the one she was meant to be with?
It didn’t matter. She had made her choice.
The wedding was just over a half hour but felt like it was over in the blink of an eye. The pastor recited from Proverbs, a couple of verses from the Bible. Rings were exchanged.
And vows?
They didn’t write vows. They both decided against it. There was nothing more that needed to be said between them. He could read her eyes clearly and she could read his. If they did want to say something, that could be done later, when it was just the two of them.