Disclaimer: Princess Diaries does not belong to me. And I'm not making money off of it.

Chapter 8

When he heard the door open, he stopped pacing and looked. His jaw went slack and his eyes glazed over as he saw his angel standing in the doorway, clad in a beautiful cream silk night gown. The gown stopped at about her knees, with a slit cut in the the side to allow a glimpse of her thigh. Beautiful lace accented her breasts along with the hem of the gown.

"Do you like it?" She asked. "I mean…is it too frilly or—" She was interrupted when Joseph took her into his arms and kissed her with abandon. She was so beautiful, and so sexy. He didn't know how he was able to resist her for so long. His hands found the bare skin of her back and relished it, gently running his hands up and down her spine, sending shivers through her body.

"Beautiful, so beautiful." he said while placing kisses on her bare shoulder. "Absolutely stunning." He kissed her on the shoulder a couple more times before whispering in her ear, "dance with me, my love."

He gently took her in his arms and started to move to the ambient piano music playing in the background. She placed one of her hands on his chest and rested her head on his shoulder, her nose pressed into his neck, to be as close to him as humanly possible. They gently swayed to the music, holding each other close, as to never let each other go again.

As the song finished and the next one started, Clarisse raised her head off of Joseph's shoulder and brought her face to his. Her hand came up to cup his cheek and his eyes connected with hers. Her thumb ran over her husband's lips, "I love you…so much" she whispered. "I cant believe I almost lost you, I feel like such a fucking idiot." Joseph smiled at his wife's tendency to use colorful words in private when she was angry or upset.

"You're not the only idiot around here, trust me. If it helps, I feel like a bigger one, for thinking that that one moment in time would define our whole relationship," he gently kissed her forehead. "I've never had a more bigger regret than walking away from you that night. I knew in the back of my mind that what you were saying was the way it had to be for now, it's been this way for years and I was content with waiting till all of the chaos died down. But I let my anger and frustration get the better of me." He leaned his forehead against hers and continued, "I am so sorry, so, so sorry." His hands were clutching at her sides, trying to keep his self anger at bay. He was still kicking himself in the backside for what happened.

"I am sorry too, more sorry than anything else I've ever done in my life. But out of everything that has happened, we made it through, together. We are together." she paused and her tone turned serious. "We got married today." she whispered as her face moved closer to his.

"We got married today." he whispered back. "Your my wife…" he said, than let out a sign of relief. "And you're wearing my ring," he smiled at her.

"Yes I am, my husband," she said before she pulled his lips back to hers.

Realization had dawned on them that there were no more boundaries between them, physical, legal, or otherwise. Joseph kissed her with intent, passion, and heat, and Clarisse kissed him right back. In the haziness of kisses and caresses, Clarisse had gotten Joseph's robe untied and free from his body, letting it fall to the floor.

Both drunk on endorphins, he has placed his hands on her hips and pulled her closer, their bodies flush with each other. His hands started to bunch in the fabric of the nightgown, slowly working his hands underneath to the bare flesh of her thighs. Her hands flung around his neck, keeping him as close as possible.

The feel of her skin was incredible, soft and smooth. "Oh God," she broke away from the kiss and moaned while trying to catch her breath. His mouth automatically latched onto her neck as his hands continued to caress. They had eventually worked their way higher to find that she had nothing on under the nightgown. "Oh god," he reciprocated as he cupped her beautifully rounded backside in both hands. Her hands went to his head and pulled him away from her neck to look into his eyes. He was panting from his exhausted effort, his eyes dark with desire. She looked into his eyes and said, "Take me to bed, my husband." And he did just that. His hands cupped her backside and lifted her off of the ground, her legs circling his torso as he carried her to the bed.

She easily crawled onto the bed, pulling her husband onto the bed with her. Joseph's hands remained on her hips under the gown as he crawled onto the bed next to her. Clarisse guided his mouth back to hers in a ravaging kiss. His hands started to work her gown up, but he stopped before exposing her completely. Joseph took a moment to observe his wife, asking for permission. Her breathing was ragged and her heart was beating ten fold. She looked into his eyes, and saw nothing but the love and the desire he held for her.

"Yes" she said, and he moved the gown up, over her head and onto the floor. Joseph finally looked at her exposed body for the first time. She was the most beautiful woman in the world, according to him. And he would treat her as such every day for the rest of his life. Clarisse watched him as he looked at her, his eyes turned a deep, dark, blue as he trailed his hand down the valley between her breasts. Her skin so soft and supple, he cupped one of her breasts, holding it in his hand, feeling the perfect fit, before he leaned down and took her pebbled nipple into his mouth, feasting on her delicate curves. A wave of sensation washed over her, having never felt this way before, she let her head fall back and let out a moan. The feeling of his mouth on an intimate part of her body was absolutely wonderful to her, and she never wanted it to stop.

After giving sufficient attention to her other breast, he starting plant kisses on her bare skin, working from the valley between her breasts down to her stomach, kissing the line where her panties would sit, just up from her curls. He stopped short of going any farther south, as much as he wanted to he didn't want to scare her, he had little to no knowledge about his new wife's sexual experiences, she never offered and out of respect he never asked. He would have plenty of more times in their life together to do what he really wanted with her, but right now he had a one track mind. Her smell was overpowering, almost like a drug, and the more he took in her scent the more his arousal kicked up, and the confines of his boxers became tighter and tighter.

Clarisse put one hand under his chin and raised his head, his eyes had glazed over but she could still see a sliver of control left. She pulled his face back up to hers and slammed her lips into his, her hands finding purchase at his hips, his hands landing on top of hers as she worked his boxers down over his thighs, and with a few quick maneuvers they were completely off and on the floor.

Clarisse took a moment to look him over and he had done her, he was most certainly all man, broad shoulders and well defines pectorals, well defined abs and thighs from all the years of jogging and weight lifting, and a well defined member that certainly was ready for the current task at hand.

She wrapped one of her legs around his hips, pulling him closer until skin met skin, and his silken steel met her delicate flesh. He kissed her soundly. "Close your eyes," he whispered. "You are everything I've ever wanted," he whispered into her ear before placing a kiss just behind it. "Let go and feel." And with that, he entered her.

Never in her life had she felt so complete as when Joseph buried himself inside her. A wave of sensation ricocheted through her body and she let out a deep moan. Neither moved for several seconds, taking the time to just be present in the moment and feel.

After a bit, Joseph started to move, slow at first, getting his bearings and watching her how she responded and adjusted. Her breathing had increased and she looked into his eyes and nodded, letting him know it was okay to continue. He increased his pace. They made love as if they had all the time in the world. Each rock of his hips, flex of his muscles under her hands, and each caress of his fingers on her skin, sent them both closer and closer to a precipice that neither was sure they would survive.

Everything inside of him was coiling, tightening, and building. He needed what only she could give him. His thrusts increased in depth and strength. She could no longer suppress her vocal adorations as a number of 'Yes's' and 'Oh God's' came from her mouth. She felt her core twisting and tightening, something she had never felt before. Her nerve endings were on fire, she swore she could feel absolutely everything around her, including the microscopic droplets of sweat on her skin.

And in all of one second, everything exploded around her. "Clarisse," he whispered into her neck as he thrust one last forceful time. And everything shattered. Clarisse arched against him, screaming his name as her orgasm overtook her. She felt herself clench and grip him in the most intimate way possible, and that sent him over the edge. Clenching the pillow underneath her head with one hand as he loudly groaned her name. It lasted until every ounce of strength was drained from both of their bodies.

Only then did he slump back onto her, she cradled his head against her breast, running her nails though his short hair and over the back of his neck. He kissed the perspiration from her skin and sighed in contentment, sending deep tingles through her body as the muscles deep in her core continued to flutter.

Heart rates slowed as they laid content, still joined, and now officially man and wife.

~Please R&R. I am so freakishly sorry that this took almost two years for me to update. I bet I have rewritten this scene over a thousand times and it never seemed right. I just decided that I should just bite the bullet and post what I have. This version I feel very satisfied that it conveys the emotion that I want. I hope you all forgive me and now that I'm over this hump I think it will go a lot smoother. ~S