The door to the bridal suite at the Bayberry Inn crashed heavily into the wall as it was thrown open with force.

“No way, Manning!” cried Téa, pushing at her husband to fend him off. “There is no way I’m letting you carry me over the threshold. You suffered a gunshot wound, for heaven’s sake! I don’t want you breaking open the wound and bleeding all over that fine Armani Tux. You shouldn’t even be out of the sling yet.”

Her husband of two hours gingerly hunched his right shoulder, demonstrating that it was in fine working condition. “Look, Téa, I’m not an invalid. I’m able to perform my husbandly duties—all of them.” She was starting to renew the protest, but before she could stop him, he squatted down and rammed his good shoulder into her midsection. When he stood up, Téa was draped over him like a sack of potatoes with her head hanging down his back. She shrieked wildly, kicking her feet and arguing, but there was nothing she could do. Todd marched into the room and gently set her on her feet again, grinning at her triumphantly. Téa shook her head in exasperation, laughing along with him.

A few hours before, they had been married for the third time in a quiet, private church ceremony attended only by their closest friends and family. Unlike the stark practicality of their first wedding, or the lavish excess of the second, their third had been satisfying in every sense of the word. It had been warm and intimate, with all the people who loved them surrounding them. Almost losing each other in the woods on Llantano mountain had given them a sense of expediency about the marriage. They didn’t want to waste any more time apart. They hadn’t meant to choose the same day as John Sykes’ funeral, and at first Téa had felt obligated to attend that grim rite. But Todd had convinced her that the man’s psychotic behavior towards her in his last hours negated any obligation she might have felt arising from their past relationship.

Now, as the two lovers stood together in the over-decorated suite, all their past troubles were forgotten as they leaned in for a long, heart-felt kiss. “Welcome back, Mr. and Mrs. Manning!” blustered a jolly voice from the open door, interrupting them. “I hope everything is satisfactory,” continued Mr. Barkus, the proprietor of the inn.

“It was,” said Todd with a scowl. He pulled away from Téa and hurried to the door, preparing to slam it in the intruder’s face. Mr. Barkus thwarted him by wheeling in a cart laden with a champagne bucket and a pair of beribboned flute glasses. Todd rolled his eyes.

“With the compliments of the staff,” said the innkeeper brightly.

“Take it away,” growled Todd.

“Todd!” chided Téa, embarrassed by his rudeness. Seeing her face, Todd pasted on a fake smile.

“What I mean is, well….you see, the lady can’t drink this, if you know what I mean.” He winked conspiratorially at the old man.

Understanding dawning rapidly, Mr. Barkus seemed flustered. “Oh my….well…uh…congratulations, Mrs. Manning. Oh, and you too, Mr. Manning.” He didn’t seem to know what to do next. Glaring at Todd in exasperation, Téa stepped forward and laid her hand on the elderly gentleman’s arm.

“Thank you, Mr. Barkus. We really appreciate the gesture.”

“Yeah. Real cool. Now get it out of here,” said Todd, pointing at the door. Suddenly the innkeeper brightened.

“I know! I’ll be back in a jif! We have sparkling cider….”

“Hey, what a good idea!” said Todd sarcastically, trying to speed up the man’s departure. He helped wheel the cart out the door. “But, hey, why don’t you wait awhile, huh Gramps? The missus and me, well, we don’t want any interruptions, you know?” He handed a twenty-dollar bill to the innkeeper.

Mr. Barkus looked uncomfortable, clearing his voice loudly as he left, but he nodded his head. Todd slammed the door on him, turning around with a grimace on his face. “God! Why didn’t we just fly to Fiji like I wanted?”

“Now, Todd. This is much more romantic than spending our wedding night on a cramped plane. Besides, I like it here…it was the first place we made love.” Walking over to him, she put her arms around his neck and began to kiss him. She felt him relax as she stroked his back. Pulling away, she looked at him with undisguised affection, stroking his face. “I thought we weren’t going to tell anyone about the baby?” she said with a small smile.

“Uh…I know…but I had to get rid of the old fart somehow.” He drew her to him again, leaning in to kiss her neck. As things heated up between them, Téa reached up to push off his jacket, but stopped abruptly when she felt him stiffen in pain.

“Oh, I hurt you! I’m so sorry!” she cried, looking at him in horror.

“It’s nothing, Delgado,” he said, carefully removing the tuxedo coat and examining his shoulder. “The doc said it would hurt for a while. He said not to do anything strenuous.” He raised one eyebrow with a wicked grin, but Téa couldn’t help the tears she felt filling her eyes. She turned away, sniffling. “Aw, Téa, please don’t think about it again…not today of all days. We have to put it behind us.” He moved up and pressed her back to his chest, folding his arms around her tightly as she cried.

“It’s just that every time I see that wound, I’m reminded of how close I came to losing you, Todd,” she cried. “If Officer Doyle hadn’t been so quick, John would have killed you!”

“Doyle didn’t get the marksmanship medal for nothing, Téa. He’s good. Better than Syko, obviously, since I’m still here and he’s now worm food.”

Téa couldn’t help chuckling at his choice of words. “You know, Todd, you should be a little more sensitive. Today at the wedding, when you toasted Officer Doyle as the ‘man who rid Llanview of the plague,’ you didn’t see his face. He’s still rather broken up about taking a life in the line of duty.”

“Look, I don’t want to talk about Doyle or Syko anymore. Now is our time. Something tells me we’re going to get it right this time Téa.” Taking her hand, he drew her into the bedroom. A large four-poster bed stood in the middle of the room, bedecked with every imaginable shape and size of lacy pillow in existence. Gauzy curtains veiled the bed, and white rose petals were strewn over the coverlet. The two of them stared across the bed at each other for a few moments. Then, as though by mutual consent, they crawled on top of the mattress and faced each other on their knees.

Todd already had his jacket off, but as he watched, Téa undid the jeweled buttons to her lace overblouse and gently slid it off her shoulders. Now she wore only her strapless satin wedding dress, exposing her creamy shoulders and neck. Staring intently into her eyes, Todd reached out and caressed the soft skin, sliding his fingers down her neck toward her cleavage. Téa closed her eyes and leaned back, reveling in his touch as she moaned aloud. Soon Todd replaced his fingers with his mouth, nibbling and licking her exposed flesh. After a few minutes of his ministrations, Téa looked almost drunk as she opened her eyes and fixed him with a smoldering look. Reaching out, she methodically unbuttoned his vest, then his shirt underneath. Her hands slipped inside next to his warm body as she stroked along his ribcage through his thin undershirt. Their mouths met, and soon their tongues joined in an intricate ballet of desire. Téa yanked impatiently at his shirt, letting him know that she wanted it off. He knew she was afraid of hurting his injury, so he unbuttoned the sleeves and stripped away both vest and shirt in one gesture. He wore a tank style undershirt, which exposed the gauze bandages on his shoulder. Téa’s eyes locked onto it, and he could tell she was beginning to panic again.

Anxious to distract her, Todd slipped behind his wife. He smoothed his warm hands over her shoulders and leaned in to kiss the spot at the base of her neck. Feeling her relax, he began to work on the column of tiny buttons that fastened her dress up the back. Soon, he had the gown loosened enough that he could push the bodice down to her waist. Reaching from behind, he caressed her breasts through the lace of her bustier, hearing her moan as the nipples came to attention. After a few minutes of that, he couldn’t take it anymore, and he quickly pushed her down on the ridiculously large pile of pillows. A few maneuvers later, he had her wedding dress completely off. Besides the white bustier, she wore a matching garter belt with shimmery stockings and tiny little panties. The sight of the woman he loved arrayed in so much enticing lingerie amongst the frilly pillows was almost overwhelming. For a moment, Todd just sat on his knees and stared, inwardly thanking the heavens for sparing him and for giving him this beautiful lady to love.

But soon Téa was reaching out to him, and Todd didn’t hesitate before stretching himself full length at her side. She leaned up on her elbow, helping him unbutton his fly and slide his trousers over his hips. Tugging at the hem of his undershirt, she gingerly slipped it over his head, avoiding his shoulder wound. Now that he was down to only a tight-fitting pair of white briefs, there was no denying the extent of the passion he felt for his wife. Wanting to feel her skin against his, he impatiently fumbled with the fasteners on her bustier, finally stripping it away. They embraced warmly, not saying a word, each taking comfort in the closeness of the other. After a long moment, they couldn’t stand it anymore, and began to play with their partner’s body.

Todd teased Téa’s nipples with his fingertips, grinning when they rose to taut little peaks. Gasping, she stroked him through his underwear, taking satisfaction as his breathing became strained. She lost the struggle when he moved his mouth to her breasts, arching back and holding his head against her chest as she squirmed. Todd seemed in no hurry, holding her tightly as he alternated between the nipples, sucking and licking until she bucked beneath him. “Oh, Querido, please,” she begged, fighting to sit up against the stack of pillows. “Enough torture…I want you inside of me…now.” Recognizing the urgency in her voice, Todd unhooked each of her stockings and seductively rolled them down, licking along her inner thighs to further drive her wild. After stripping away the rest of her underwear, he rose to his knees and slid his briefs over his hips, allowing her to feast her eyes on his engorged manhood.

Crawling up between her legs, he positioned himself above her. After one more searing kiss, he plunged into her, causing her to cry out with pleasure as he filled her completely. Ever so slowly, he began to move, finding a rhythm that suited them both. Her head lolling on the pillows, Téa hooked her feet behind Todd’s buttocks, driving him ever deeper inside of her. Their passion was so intense, neither one could last long this time around. With the comfort of knowing that a lifetime of such pleasures awaited them, they both gave into the sensations possessing their bodies, and rode the wave to the top of the crest. Simultaneously, they felt the powerful surge as the swell reached its apex and caught them up in a maelstrom of desire. Stiffening and crying out, they collapsed in each other’s arms, panting as they finally came up for air.

A short while later, they lay entwined together, the sheet loosely covering their nakedness. Neither one had spoken a word since their lovemaking, physical communication being so much more satisfying at the moment. The fire in the hearth had burnt down to embers, but Téa wouldn’t let go of Todd long enough for him to add a few logs. Outside, the icy rain pelted against the windows as the short late autumn day came to an end. Gently, Téa traced the fullness of her husband’s lips, smiling as he crinkled his nose. She felt him flinch and pushed to her elbow to look at his face.

“Did I hurt you?” she asked, concerned at the faraway look in his eyes.

“Huh? No! I was just thinking…”

“About what, Querido?”

“A split second, Téa. That’s all the difference there was between me and Syko. Another heartbeat and I’d be the one in the cold ground and he would be holding you, comforting you….”

“Shhhhh,” she said, covering his mouth with two of her fingers. “Let’s not think about that now, even though I would have died along with you rather than let him touch me. You said it…he’s gone, and this is our time.” They lay together quietly, but now that Todd had brought up the subject, Téa’s thoughts returned more and more to the dead detective who had almost ruined her happiness. “Todd, do you believe in Heaven and Hell?” she asked, staring at the newly replaced wedding ring on her left hand.

He grunted. “Yeah. No. Jeez, I don’t know, Téa!” he said. Thinking hard he said, “Sometimes I think I’ve already been through hell…my childhood, prison, the torture…it’s like I’ve earned a reprieve in the afterlife.”

“Sort of like Purgatory?”

“Huh? What’s that?”

“Oh, it’s what the nuns teach you in catechism,” she said, musing on her Catholic upbringing. “It’s kind of like Hell, but they let you out after you’ve paid for your sins, or if your family prays hard enough for you on earth.”

Todd chuckled lightly. “Hell with a loophole, huh? Well, sounds good to me…I’ve got an awful lot of sins to pay for, Téa, but it’s nice to know that with a little help, I might get to paradise after all.” Noticing her thoughtful expression, he asked, “What about you, Delgado? Do you believe all that mumbo jumbo?”

She looked into his eyes. “Yes, I think I do, Todd. But, I think your theory that we experience little bits of those places during our time on earth is a good one. For instance, I know I was in Limbo for all those months we were apart…”

“Limbo?”

“Yeah, it’s a place between Heaven and Hell. Kind of like a giant waiting room.”

“Gee, there’s a pleasant image,” said Todd, pretending to shudder. Suddenly, he turned to his side, staring into her face with an intensity that caused her skin to tingle. “Look, Téa, I don’t know if any of those places exist, but I do know this: I love you. Life with me isn’t going to be one big Garden of Eden, I can tell you that, but I’m going to try to make your life as good as it gets. It won’t be heaven on earth, but I’m not going to put you through hell anymore. I’m going to make the best life I can for you, Starr and our baby…”

“As long as we’re together, Todd, we’ll make our own paradise,” said Téa, staring into his expressive eyes. As she watched, they softened perceptibly around the edges as his lips turned up in a grin.

“Well, what do you say we get started,” he said with a sexy growl. Throwing the sheet over their heads, they burrowed under the covers. Outside, the storm raged with a fury worthy of hell; but inside, in the large, warm bed, for a brief while Todd and Téa found heaven.

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