((Warning - contains material of an adult nature.))

Preparing a wedding in the space of twenty-four hours was a task and a half, even for the Grangers, but somehow, they managed it. At five o'clock in the evening, just as the sun was beginning to set, Isabelle Granger became Isabelle Jackson, three years and a lot of heartache late. In the presence of their immediate family, she and Jax exchanged vows made up on the spot, with a ring finally finding its resting place against his knuckle to match the ring about her own finger. And that would have been that, were it not for certain Grangers' delight in celebrating anything and everything. A full dinner had been arranged, and a lot more family showed up for it, though thankfully there were no terribly embarrassing speeches or fulsome gifts bestowed. But it was late in the evening when the newly-wedded couple finally escaped the tentacled grasp of family to make their way to Mulberry Lodge, a house on the Grove opened up, aired, and cleaned for this very purpose. Peace, at last.

As tradition demanded, Jax had scooped up his bride in his arms to carry her over the threshold of their new home, whether or not it would prove temporary or permanent. It wasn't the first time a wedding at Maple Grove had been quickly thrown together, but their wedding had probably broken the record for the quickest. What was the point in waiting, after all, when they'd already waited three years for each other"

Izzy laughed as he scooped her up, rolling her eyes at his insistence on the gentlemanly gesture, even if it was unnecessary. Wrapping her own arms about his neck, she kissed his cheek tenderly as he bore her over the threshold. "Thank god they didn't try to escort us to bed," she groaned teasingly. "I thought Ash might actually try and get in with us at one point."

"I love your sister, but three's a crowd!" Jax laughed as he carried her inside and kicked the door closed behind them, assuring them some semblance of privacy. Once inside, he paused just inside the door to take a look around and get his bearings. It wasn't hard to figure out that the bedroom was most likely upstairs, and he headed that way with her in his arms.

His apparent determination not to let her put her feet on the floor at all brought another laugh from Izzy's lips. "You don't have to carry me to bed, you know," she assured him teasingly. "I promise, I'm not going to say no on our wedding night."

"I'm not taking any chances," he grinned back at her, starting up the stairs, before backing up as something to his right caught his eye. "Whoops, I almost passed it!" he said with a laugh as he pushed open the door and carried her into a large bedroom he assumed was the master. They hadn't really had much of a chance to explore the new home yet, but there would be time enough for that later. First things first.

"Wow, the master's downstairs." Izzy sounded impressed, reaching out to turn on the light so they could see the room before they got distracted. "That's a new one on me." Her finger poked into his chest gently. "Put me down on my feet, please. This dress has waited three years for you to take it off with dignity, mister."

"Is that so unusual?" he asked curiously as he carefully set her down on her feet. He didn't seem the least winded or strained from carrying her, which boded well for their love life. He looped his arms around her waist, smiling happily at his new bride. "Have I told you how beautiful you are and how much I love you?"

"It is for the Grove," she mused. "Every house I've been into, the master's on the upper floor." Distracted from these thoughts by the winding of his arms about her waist, she smiled, raising her eyes to his as she leaned into him. "Not for at least twenty minutes," she teased, clever fingers undoing his shirt - his tie had ended up in a pocket not more than ten seconds after the vows had been said. "Have I mentioned how handsome you are, and how much I love you?"

He smiled as her fingers worked at the buttons of his shirt. "Only about a dozen times," he replied, "but I don't mind hearing it again." It seemed almost a shame that the day they had waited three years for was already coming to an end, but what an end. And yet, he didn't want to just bed her; he wanted to somehow make this night even more special than it already was, but how" He smiled again, as he remembered something Lucy had told him before they'd left, and he took hold of her hand to lead her back out of the bedroom. "Come with me."

Izzy's smile turned slightly bemused, her head tilting curiously as he took her hand. "Where are we going?" she asked, utterly at a loss as to what he had in mind. Now she was the impatient one, it seemed, eager to truly reunite with her Ryan, her husband, and he was the one slowing her down.

He drew her through the house, but instead of exploring, he found his way to the back porch where a porch swing awaited, along with a bottle of champagne in a bucket of ice and a pair of glasses. This particular house lay on the outskirts of Maple Grove, and the view out the back porch was one of the surrounding woods and the stars high above. There was no sound but the whisper of leaves as the evening breeze stirred their boughs, crickets chirping happily, and the occasional hoot owl.

Drawn out into the warm air of the evening, Isabelle paused, her eyes taking in the waiting swing, the champagne, the beautiful, summer-soft view around them. A slow smile spread over her lips. She could remember a night quite like this one, years before - a porch swing; champagne; and Jax, almost falling off his knee when she said yes to his proposal. Her fingers curled about his arm as she slipped closer, hugging herself to him. "You don't have to ask anymore, you know."

"I've waited three years for this," he told her with a soft smile, though she had, too. It wasn't so much the sex, though there was that; it was knowing she loved him and that she belonged to him, now and forever, so long as they lived. He touched a kiss to her lips, his arms going around her waist. The view was beautiful, but it was the woman in his arms that made it memorable.

Wrapped up in his arms, she leaned into him, returning his kiss with her own, soft and tender in his encircling embrace. He was the only man who saw her vulnerable, who knew how fragile she really was; she'd never shown anyone else quite how breakable she was. Not even her family knew for certain. But she'd always trusted Jax with that knowledge. How could she not' "I love you," she whispered against his lips, green eyes dark in the quiet night around them. "Thank you, for not giving up on me."

"Thank you for giving me another chance," he whispered back, equally grateful. "I love you, too, Isabelle. More than words can say." He wasn't really the type to get very sentimental or romantic, but there was something about the evening, the setting, that moment in time that made him want to make it memorable for both of them. He touched his forehead to hers while he held her close, memorizing every lovely feature of her face, so he could see her even when he closed his eyes at night.

Though she, too, enjoyed the closeness, there was something about being gazed at from quite so near that grew disconcerting after a while. Her fingertips grazed his cheek as a smile touched her lips. "If you do that for too long, you're going to go cross-eyed," she warned him fondly, raising her head to kiss his nose. "Can I take my hair down? I think Mum used about fifty pins to make it stay up today."

"Only if I can take my jacket off. I feel like I'm roasting in this thing," he said, chuckling a little at her remark and realizing to his own astonishment that he was actually feeling a little nervous. He didn't wait for permission before he moved over to pop the cork on the champagne and pour them each a glass.

"In here," she called to him, drawing him back toward the bedroom to discover what she was doing. Her make up had been wiped clean from her face, and judging by the minty smell, she had brushed her teeth, too. She was standing by the window, cast into shadow by the bedside lamp as she removed her earrings and necklace, glancing up as he came into sight. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I ....I was just wondering where you got to," he said, watching while she removed her jewelry - everything but her rings. "I guess I'm just a little nervous," he admitted, knowing how ridiculous that sounded.

"I could help with that," she said softly, setting the jewelry down to turn toward him. She could feel that old familiar flutter that told her no matter how bold she was, he would make it all right, and it was that, more than anything, that gave her confidence. Undoing the zip under her arm, she rolled her shoulders, letting her dress slip to the floor as she looked at him invitingly, revealing that there was only a suspender belt and stockings underneath. Old-fashioned, indeed.

If she was trying to seduce him, she was doing a pretty good job of it, his nervousness replaced by a far more immediate feeling of desire, too long denied. His gaze moved over her form, lovely in the moonlight, luscious curves and long legs, a soft mane of warm brown hair falling gently over her shoulders. He never seen anything as beautiful as her, and he'd never wanted anyone more. "Izz ..." he said, practically groaning with desire.

"That's my name," she murmured, raising her hand to beckon him closer with one finger. Her smile had turned sultry, promising everything she had denied him two days ago when he had been so impatient to have everything all at once. "You're wearing far too much, you know."

"I can't say the same for you," he said, his gaze sweeping her figure once again, up and down and up again, as he came at her beck and call, reaching for her hand. Was this beautiful creature really his wife"

"Would you like me to put the dress back on?" she asked with a mischievous light in her eyes, taking his hand to draw him closer. Her fingers finished undoing his shirt as her lips teased against his, not quite giving him the kiss she was aching for even as she swept his shirt from his shoulders to join her dress on the floor.

He might have answered her question, if she hadn't engaged his lips, but he had no complaints. He shrugged his shirt from his shoulders, his hands moving to rest against her hips, but only for a moment before they were moving around her to sweep her off her feet and carry her at last to the bed where he'd claim her once and for all as his wife.

She was no less eager to stake a claim of her own as he bore her to the bed, barely bouncing once before her hands were tugging at his pants, wanting him as bare to her as she was to him. Perhaps the equivalent would be to leave his socks on, although that was a pretty silly look for a naked man ....That thought made her laugh, though, kissing him with giggling lips as she moaned his name softly, utterly confident in herself and in his love for her.

He wasn't sure what she was giggling about, except maybe that she was ridiculously happy, but he for the first time in three years, he had to admit that he was ridiculously happy, too. He smothered her giggling moan of his name with lips eager to explore every inch of her body, if only he could restrain himself long enough. He lifted his hips off the bed to wiggle out of his pants, hands splayed against each side of her head.

There was a clunk as one of her shoes hit the floor, stockinged toes helping to work his pants down his legs once they were out of reach of her hands.This was their first time in years - there wasn't going to be any finesse, any seduction, any real worship of one another until that first biting edge was taken off, and she didn't care. She just wanted him.

His shorts came off next, but before that could happen he had to toe out of his shoes, each of them landing with a thunk on the floor. His hands wandered to explore those luscious curves of hers, followed by his lips, only drawing back long enough to peel his shorts and socks off before he was upon her again, almost growling a warning.

She growled back at him, her hips rising to meet his, too eager to bother with niceties. They had a lifetime to be nice to each other in bed; this was more important. Important enough that she didn't have the patience to wait for him, rising up to push him over onto his back and take charge herself, devouring his lips as his key found her lock, spilling open years of abstinence in a single swift motion.

There had been other women before her, but she had ruined him for any other woman after her. Three years of abstinence was almost enough to drive the most patient man crazy, but all that was coming to an end tonight. He gave as good as he got, both of them equally giving and taking from the other, three years of abstinence burned away in a frenzy of lovemaking that left them both trembling and breathless.

And even then, sated for now, eyes met in tender adoration as hands wandered, too hungry to pause even for a moment. Izzy kissed him with soft lips, nuzzling close as she felt that last coil of tension between them unwind. "That was fun," she breathed through her smile, nipping at his lips impishly. "Need a minute before we move on to the main event?"

"Baby, I could do this all night," he replied with a grin, before kissing her lips again - once, twice, three times before he delved deeper. Even if his body needed a minute to rise again to the occasion, he was more than willing to use that time to touch her and taste her and give her as much pleasure as she could endure.

Giggling, she drew her arms around him as he kissed her. They had years to make up for, and it wasn't going to happen in just one night. That didn't mean they weren't going to make a damned good start on it, though. It was just as well they were right on the edge of the Grove - things were going to be noisy at Mulberry Lodge for a long time to come.