164 All My Life

For all those times you stood by me
For all the truth that you made me see
For all the joy you brought to my life
For all the wrong that you made right
For every dream you made come true
For all the love I found in you
I’ll be forever thankful baby
You’re the one who held me up
Never let me fall
You’re the one who saw me through, through it all

You were my strength when I was weak
You were my voice when I couldn’t speak
You were my eyes when I couldn’t see
You saw the best there was in me
Lifted me up when I couldn’t reach
You gave me faith ‘cuz you believed
I’m everything I am
Because you loved me

You gave me wings and made me fly
You touched my hand I could touch the sky
I lost my faith, you gave it back to me
You said no star was out of reach
You stood by me and I stood tall
I had your love I had it all
I’m grateful for each day you gave me
Maybe I don’t know that much
But I know this much is true
I was blessed because I was loved by you

You were my strength when I was weak
You were my voice when I couldn’t speak
You were my eyes when I couldn’t see
You saw the best there was in me
Lifted me up when I couldn’t reach
You gave me faith ‘coz you believed
I’m everything I am
Because you loved me

You were always there for me
The tender wind that carried me
A light in the dark shining your love into my life
You’ve been my inspiration
Through the lies you were the truth
My world is a better place because of you

You were my strength when I was weak
You were my voice when I couldn’t speak
You were my eyes when I couldn’t see
You saw the best there was in me
Lifted me up when I couldn’t reach
You gave me faith ‘cuz you believed
I’m everything I am
Because you loved me

I’m everything I am
Because you loved me

Larry Butz and Iris Hawthorne
Honeymoon Suite, Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel
June 17, 2026, 1:11 AM

Feeling rejuvenated from his much-needed shower, the new groom wrapped a towel around his waist and smilingly left a trail of steam behind him as he exited the opulent honeymoon suite bathroom. An excited smile of anticipation played upon his lips at the thought of finally getting to be alone with his new blushing bride. The demure shrine maiden had bashfully declined his playful offer to join her husband in the deep sunken marble tub, graciously insisting Larry be the first to freshen up, and that in the meantime, she’d prefer some unwinding solitude within their chambers.

In between her multiple necromancy endeavors and then being a gracious newlywed hostess at their last-minute reception, he couldn’t help but wonder if his wife would be too frayed for any other just married activities. He still couldn’t believe she hadn’t passed out against him by the last dance of the night, if not sooner!

Larry had heard in the past that for many couples, it wasn’t uncommon for them to not actually consummate their marriage on their first night together, as they were simply too worn out from the festivities.  Up until then, having churlishly applauded himself on his unsurpassed vigor, he’d always dismissed any excuse to not pounce at the golden opportunity for the first-time frolic with one’s new spouse as unfathomably lame.

After all-night dancing while vertically upright, in one another’s arms, how could you not wish to eagerly seal the deal of your union like a real man should …with some horizontal Mambo?

As far as Larry had been concerned, marital relations were not only culturally and religiously expected … but encouraged!

It’s unbelievable how all it takes is the love of a good woman to make a formerly Neanderthal man, even one with a lifetime of such bassackward, chauvinistic ways of thinking, do such a complete turnabout, now that it’s his own actual wedding night!

Presently remembering Iris’s lovely, but slightly tired, smile by the end of the night, the children’s illustrator couldn’t help but wonder if their first time together as man and wife would be best if delayed until the next morning.

Consequently, after spending the entire morning and afternoon composing portrait sketches, in his role as wedding artist, of a now-defunct betrothed duo, coupled with the flurry of their nuptials, he was quite spent, himself! Therefore, his poor Iris would understandably be even more exhausted, what with the flurry of channeling all day, first while performing a full Whitney Houston concert, and then resurrecting her late cousin – not to mention the unexpected additional hectic activities associated with their whirlwind wedding on top of that!

Even though Iris had undergone the entire day with zero complaints, with her customary beatific smile on her lips, he certainly didn’t want to wear her out on their first night together, as they had an entire lifetime at their disposal to get to know one another on an intimate level. The newly evolved Larry was determined to let his bride know he’d be completely understanding if she opted for a rain check, and that he would be quite content to bask in the simple delight of holding her sleeping form in his arms all night, should that be her choice.

As he entered the bedroom, he found his bride with her back to him, standing in front of her hastily packed valise on the sofa, her head bowed and her shoulders drooped slightly.

“Iris?” He spoke her name quietly from the bathroom doorway, not wanting to startle her. “Is everything alright?”

His wife appeared to be so lost in thought that she didn’t even hear him, not even seeming to notice his presence until he came up behind her and placed his hand on her arm, a feeling of unease coming over him as he heard her sniffle.

“Milady?” His concern mounted as he saw liquid pooling in her lovely eyes when she finally saw him. “What’s the matter?”

Glancing down, he realized she was holding a framed photograph in her hands. It was one of herself and Dahlia, arms wrapped around one another’s shoulders, looking as though they were in their college years, with the redheaded Hawthorne sister twirling a lock of Iris’s obsidian hair around her finger, the serene smile on her lips identical to her twin’s.

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly, placing the picture back into her suitcase and turning around to face him. “I was hoping that I would’ve gathered my bearings by the time you had finished bathing, as it seemed to be a prime opportunity for me to collect my thoughts, and hopefully bid my old life adieu. It – it’s something that I’ve done, each morning and night, ever since Dahlia Lilith passed away. But I didn’t want you to see me like this.”

Larry was too astonished at the first time hearing of his late Satanic sister-in-law’s way too aptly fitting middle name to even make the instant declaration that since he was now her husband,  his wife shouldn’t feel a need to hide anything from him, ever again.

Lilith, the demonic succubus of the underworld in both the Torah and the Bible! He thought in disbelief. Yet Morgan chose to bequeath her other daughter with the fairer and heavenly middle name, Elizabeth, associated with monarchs and nobility?! Yeesh, right out of the gate, Dahlia didn’t have a prayer! That demon-spawn twin of my wife was just destined to be born with a pointy tail!

“Whatever it is you need to do, I hope you know you don’t have to keep it a secret, or ever fear any sort of judgement from me,” he said, at last, cupping her cheek in his hand as he attempted to make her smile. “Although hopefully at the very least, you can tell your husband why you have tears in your eyes on your wedding night – which I can’t even claim are those of disappointment, since I just got here!”

She twittered slightly at his attempted jesting and smiled ruefully.

“This is the only picture I have of us together, which Dahlia set up with that infamous camera of hers, where my sister appeared to be genuinely smiling. It was before the whole Melissa Foster court case. I’ve kept it on my nightstand ever since. First thing in the morning and right before bed, I’ve always kneeled and said two prayers in front of it.” Her soft voice quivered. “First, that somehow, someway, my twin’s soul can find redemption. And second, that she never be allowed to be free until that happens.”

The forlorn expression in her eyes felt like a stab to his own heart, and he wordlessly gathered her close, as if trying to absorb some of her pain.

“I’ve always felt like a stranger with my own face … because my sibling and I shared that  face.” Iris’s voice was muffled against him. “It’s taken me so long to get used to the fact that I bore the same visage as a monster. I’ve tried so hard in my life to be the furthest thing possible from my sister. To right all the wrongs that she did in her life, even though I made a bigger mess of things in the past while trying to do so.”

She buried her head against his chest.

“Dahlia knew how much I had grown to love Feenie. And she used to mock me for it, saying I was a fool to love a man that didn’t even know who I really was because he didn’t love me – he loved her. His Dollie. She’d mercilessly taunt me, about how I could stand the fact that every time he said I love you, Dollie, it would be her face he would always see, not mine. Never mine.”

“Your sister was wretchedly cruel to say such things, Iris.” Larry felt a tightness in his chest building at her obvious sorrow. “But Dahlia’s gone now. She can’t hurt you, or anyone else, anymore, or ever again. You need to put all those terrible past things she said to you out of your mind.”

“It’s so hard!” Iris choked. “How can I forget how she used to torment me about how no man would ever see my face whenever they looked at me, because hers would be the only one that would remain in their memory, for better or worse.”

She stared up at him with limpid eyes, still sparkling with tears.

“When I first realized I was falling in love with you, there were times when I wondered how you could bear seeing this visage of mine, knowing I looked exactly like that lusus naturae! Yet I still desperately wished and hoped and prayed that I could somehow make you forget the resemblance, even though few others ever did…”

Larry placed a finger against her lips to silence her anguish.

“Iris, I’ve told you this before, and I’ll say it again and again, for the rest of my life, until you finally believe me. All I have ever seen when I look at you is you. You and that big, benevolent heart of yours. That’s what I fell in love with. I don’t look at this comely visage, and see the face of a demon. I see the face of an angel.” 

“You do mean that, don’t you?” She asked hopefully, a hesitant smile on her lips upon hearing his words of reassurance. “That when you look at this face, all you see is me?”

Her lustrous brown jewels shone brightly, reflecting the warmth of the softly lit room. They were such a unique color, a mix of light and dark hues. Those beloved doe orbs smiled constantly whenever they gazed at him. The perfectly applied bridal eye makeup rimmed those beauteous eyes, making them stand out so much more. They stared up at him now, so wide and trusting, so much emotion held inside their depths.

The size of those luminous orbs gives them a sense of innocence and purity. This is the part of her where you can see all the buried kindness eclipsed behind the saturated color of fine, exquisite mahogany. You can see the goodness in her eyes, which tells you that no matter what she does, their intention will never carry any hint of malevolence or malignity whatsoever. The kindness may not necessarily be shown or exposed, but if you look closely, you can reveal all the mysteries hidden within.  From the surface of the stolen specks in sunlight to the abyss in the abysmal depths of dusky, auburn. Those deep, mesmerizing beds…they’re a big part of why I fell for her in the first place. Iris is so self-effacing that she could never understand neither the inner or outer beauty she is made of because she doesn’t see herself as I do, as anyone does.  It’s one of the millions of reasons I love her so much.  

“Looking at you has been my favorite pastime from the moment I laid eyes upon you,” Larry swore solemnly, staring straight into her eyes. “Especially dear to me are those deep pools of dark-cinnamon swirls, which hold the depth and heaviness of one thousand untold stories, while simultaneously holding the sweetness of saccharine chocolate, mixed with the bitterness of strong coffee. They consist of so much raw emotion, and if you observe closely, they will reveal the exact thoughts that cross the marvels of your mind, and mysteries that I long to uncover. And even though I know that same mind also beholds many tragic memories, I plan to spend all my life replacing them with happier ones, filled with love and laughter.”

He gently wiped a stray droplet away from her cheek with his thumb.

“For the rest of my days, Iris, I will move heaven and earth to ensure that you never shed another sad tear in your life.”

“Until you, I always felt like I was Rapunzel, locked away in isolation at the temple.” A loving smile was now on her lips, although the turbulent emotions remained in her eyes. “I still thank God every day that you managed to love me, even when there was a time I didn’t think I would ever love myself because I didn’t think there was anything worth loving.”

“It didn’t help that you also had the evil Dragon Lady reinforcing those self-doubts, which your despicable twin had already placed in your mind, while seizing every opportunity to diminish your self-worth, to boot!”

His tone was savage as he drew her back against him, wishing he could undo her tragic past, while mentally subjecting both Dahlia Hawthorne and Mildred Latrine to an eternity in the flaming pits of Abaddon for the lingering emotional damage they had caused the woman he loved.

“But you get the last laugh because you’ve proven both those hellions wrong haven’t you, Iris?” He reminded her encouragingly. “You are more than just a pretty face.  Not only have you demonstrated being as spiritually gifted as the rest of your family, but you’ve also gone a long way with atoning for the harm your sister caused them by helping first Nick and then halting Maya’s wedding,  by initially channeling Whitney, and then Mia! So to hell with every person who has ever put you down! You’ve shown the fallacies of their hateful venom, in more ways than one!”

She treated him to a modest smile, and tentatively nodded her agreement, then swallowed hard.

“Lawrence,” Iris said softly, her eyes shining with adoration even though her voice was threaded with tears. “When Mildred asked about my accomplishments in life, I wish I had known how you felt about me back then. Even now, as you list my virtues and talents, you’ve forgotten to mention the most important achievement of all. And it’s – it’s so splendid that it compensates for my lack of all the others.”

The groom smiled lovingly at her, although bewildered by the emotion that still clogged her voice. “What splendid accomplishment is that, milady?”

Her shoulders hunched forward and began to shake.

“I made you love me,” she whispered tearily. “Somehow, someway, I actually made you love me.”

A fresh surge of tenderness swept through him at her sweetness and her candor, and he wrapped his arms tightly, protectively around her, smiling with joyous contentment. He had realized within minutes of meeting her that she was rare; he had known within hours that she was everything he’d ever wanted. Passionate and gentle, intelligent, sensitive, and witty. He loved all of her qualities, but he hadn’t discovered the one he particularly admired until much later, and that was her valor. He was so proud of the courage that had enabled her to repeatedly confront adversity and antagonists– even when the adversaries were her own demons.

There were no words in the world that could be of any comparative worth to such a poignant avowal, or express the profound pride evoked within him. So Larry focused instead on putting all the emotions he had within him into the fiercely passionate kiss he gave his wife in that next instant.

All the love that had been accumulating through the lonely years of her life was in that kiss, and all her past miseries were vanquished thereafter as she succumbed to the sweetness of his embrace; the artist felt it in the soft lips parting willingly for his searching tongue, the delicate hands sliding through the hair at his nape. With unselfish ardor, she offered it all to him, and he took it hungrily, feeling it moving from her to him, then flowing through his veins and mingling with his until the shared blissfulness of it was shattering.

Drawing back to catch his breath, and cradling her face in his hands, the groom had a chance to finally grasp what she was wearing, and his breath caught in his throat. His bride was clad in a vintage snow-colored negligee with open-front clasps and ties that featured a graduated hi-low ruffled lace hem, which went down to the floor. It was made entirely of wispy lace, offering only a tantalizing glimpse of her alabaster skin to his hungry gaze, from the tops of her breasts, all the way down to her ankles.  She was the evocative seductress of every man’s fantasy … not quite nude, yet not quite covered. But completely irresistible.

Iris saw the flames light up his golden orbs as they glided over her, and although she was not entirely virtuous in reality, it had nevertheless been over a decade since she had been alone with a man. Feeling as callow as a Victorian maiden, the blushing bride stood before her groom, feeling awkward and helplessly aware of her lack of carnal knowledge.

She lifted her hands to her hair, still in its pinned updo, her cheeks turning rosier.

“Shall I take my hair down now?”

Larry reluctantly tore his eyes away from the delectable display of her swelling bosom, which was threatening to spill over the low, V-cut neckline of the lace gown, and saw how utterly vulnerable and uncertain his wife appeared at the moment. Gratified but bewildered by her bashfulness, he placed his hands on her shoulders.

“I’ll do it,” he said gently, already reaching for the first pin.

She shook her head stubbornly and stepped away.

“It shall be quite the cumbersome task, as there are about a million bobby pins holding everything in place right now. I don’t want to burden you.”

“Iris, what’s wrong?” He tugged her back into his arms. “What’s bothering you?”

“I feel as unschooled as a virgin,” she whispered helplessly. “I wish to know how to best please you.”

He looked like he was about to crack up upon hearing this, and Iris’s cheeks further reddened as her voice turned pleading.

“I am not speaking in jest! Please, don’t laugh at me…”

Larry stared down at the temptress and his arms and very reverently whispered, “Sweet Jesus on a pikestaff.”

She wasn’t kidding or trying to be coy. She was the sensual, intoxicating siren of his dreams, completely unaware of her allure. And she was quite serious. So much so that he knew he must tread carefully with his reactions, or risk hurting her beyond belief.

“I wasn’t laughing, milady.” He took her hand and led her to the bed, sitting down and dragging her down onto his lap. “I think perhaps the time has come to put your mind at rest, as I feel I might know the root of this underlying angst of yours.”

“I know you said a lot of those stories Mildred mentioned tonight from your past were grossly exaggerated, yet I can’t help but feel inadequate nonetheless!” She admitted miserably. “How many women have you bedded, Lawrence? Just tell me now! 30? 40?”

Flashback to earlier that evening at the reception… 

Larry Butz, Phoenix Wright, and Miles Edgeworth
The Ballroom, Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel
June 16, 2026

“Jesse has already recorded our well-wishes, but Edgeworth and I decided to give our old buddy some additional marital advice off the record, just amongst us men,” Phoenix began without preamble, his words slurring slightly. “Tonight is your wedding night, and you know, Larry, as I recall from our slumber parties, you’re very restless in bed. Therefore, it’s important that you pay attention not to get tangled up in the sheets and fall out of bed at the most crucial time if you catch my drift!”

The groom was so taken aback by such uncharacteristic locker-room style speaking from the ex-attorney that he could only gape at him in astonishment.

The card shark arched a derisive brow. “Also, be careful in the dark, lest you confuse the place where certain things are to be…placed…”

Larry let out a plaintive wail.

“Nick, dude – what the hell?! Why are you trying to mess with my game when I’m already nervous?! If you continue to keep talking like this, I won’t be able to consummate my marriage!”

“Don’t worry about that, Larry,” Edgeworth deadpanned as he lifted a slightly shaky hand in a mock toast, with what was clearly not his first drink of the night. “I’m sure that wasn’t Wright’s intention. Allow me to reassure you, in the unlikely event that such an embarrassing flub happens to be the case…”

The artist looked hopefully at the prosecutor.

“It most definitely won’t be Wright’s fault!” The barrister emphasized sardonically. “For it shall be me who may decide to make an ill-timed phone call at the very moment the main event is going to take place!”

“Ack!” Larry’s eyes flooded with his customary tears, this time of terror. “Is this why you did a complete turnabout and decided to help us get married, Edgy?! Just for the purpose of finally getting revenge for that one time I called you and Franziska at dawn?!”

Edgeworth merely smirked in response but denied nothing.

“Wah!” The newlywed’s chin trembled. “Edgy, have a heart! Think of my poor Iris, you big meanie!”

“The constant loud hotel room phone ringing off the hook would definitely be more of a cock blocker than any performance anxiety I may have just given the groom,” Phoenix noted with a shit-eating grin. “Ugh, that would be horrendous! It would ruin the mood for anyone, heh, heh.”

“You guys are a couple of soulless bastards!” The groom whined, stamping his foot. “To seriously want to sabotage my first time…”

“Say what?!” The pianist looked startled, then let out a bark of laughter. “Did I hear you right?! Or did our former womanizing pal just say my first time?”

“Indeed,” the prosecutor drawled. “It seems the first of us to wed will be experiencing firsts in every sense! Am I wrong, or are there been more talk than action
relating to your  alleged extensive experience with the ladies, Larry?”

“No!” The ex-skirt-chaser cried plaintively. “I’m not a virgin! I meant … I meant to be together for the first time …for us! As in, for Iris and me! Because I’ve respected her so far! You know, unlike the others…”

“Hmmm, I’m beginning to have my doubts,” Phoenix intoned skeptically. “Could it be that our friend the self-proclaimed womanizer has not unwrapped the cellophane yet and is possibly still in his original packaging?”

“Maybe you should whip out that mystical gemstone of yours and see if there are any visible psycho locks, Wright!” Edgeworth flashed a wicked grin. “Judging by the trembling of this witness’s voice in this testimony, he’s lying about something! Is this truly an ironic case of the groom, despite being the first of us to reach one milestone, will nevertheless be the last of us to reach the other? As in breaking said cellophane paper, as you said?  At the very least, it seems he’s not divulging the whole truth about his so-called countless female conquests…”

“We are so not having this conversation!” Larry began backing away from the mischievous twosome before breaking into a full sprint to distance himself away from the snickering men. “You two are just the worst! I’m outta here!”

End Flashback

The newlywed expelled a loud shout of laughter at the outrageous question, not even trying to contain it this time. Catching sight of his bride’s flummoxed and adorably indignant expression, however, effectively sobered him.

“30? 40?” He wiped away the tears of mirth from his eyes. “Milady, how you flatter me in your belief I could be capable of such conquests! Try dropping the 0 from these numbers, and with it, all further mentions of my past roguish ways from your mind from this moment on, I beg of you!”

“Single digits of lovers is what you’re claiming to me?!” Her eyes widened with confused skepticism. “So the rumors of you being a nefarious skirt-chaser … they’re all false then?”

“Oh, not at all! I was, most assuredly, a nefarious chaser,” he affirmed, barely smothering another guffaw. “I just wasn’t very good at catching any of those shallow model types I insisted on shamelessly pursuing! And the few that I did manage to wear down never wanted anything more than a short-term rental. None of these vapid women were seeking what I was truly craving, which was the love of a lifetime. That’s something I never found, until you. You, Iris, have made me finally realize why it never worked out with anybody else.”

As Larry spoke, he carefully pulled out the countless bobby pins holding her long ebony hair in its elaborate coiffure, his gaze unmistakably admiring as it fell in a silken gleam around her shoulders, like the sea at night, against her ivory skin.

“It doesn’t matter what little boudoir experience I had before you, wife of mine,” he promised, smiling into her relieved face. “Because you have everything I will ever want, for the rest of my life.”

He sealed this vow with a kiss.

His lips felt so gentle and warm, she felt her hands begin to slide up his chest and encircle his shoulders, as the kiss grew more intense. Larry’s hands slid off her face and tightened around her waist. Iris continued kissing him hungrily, wanting more. She felt herself being pushed back towards the mattress, his body pressing against hers. Their lips moved in perfect sync as the kiss went on, becoming more passionate by the second. For the first time in forever, Iris’s mind was locked into the present, and all her past worries evaporated like a summer shower onto a hot car.

The illustrator’s usual mode of hurrying from one thing to the next was suspended, as he had no wish for the kiss to end. Drunk on endorphins, his only desire was to touch her, to move his hands under her smooth flimsy layers and feel her perfect softness. In moments, the soft caress had become more firm, and as he savored her lips, the quickening of her breath soon matched his own. A kiss like this was a beginning, a promise of much more to come.

Iris drew an uneven breath and waited as his fingers trailed down to the hooked clasp of her bodice, and he waited patiently for her to indicate whether she wanted to have him unhook it, or do it herself.  Fortunately, the answer was revealed in the next instant when she demurely slid both her arms around his neck and arched her barely covered mounds against his bare chest, indicating exactly what she wanted him to do. He had the fastening opened in seconds, and as he leaned her back onto the bed, Larry felt in charge again, in the territory where his experience with the opposite sex, however exaggerated, was of value to them both.

He shifted her back down onto the mattress so that her head was on the pillows and he stretched out beside her. She turned in his arms and touched her tongue to his nipple, tightening her lips around it, and heard him draw in a sharp breath as he gave her full access to his body. In his wildest dreams, he never could have anticipated for her to do what she was doing to him. A heated surge of concupiscence exploded through him and he swallowed, his fingers threading through her satiny hair as she brushed her fingers up and down his chest, placing tender kisses upon it while her fingers trailed over his bared torso.

The blood pounding in his veins now felt like molten lava. Unable to restrain himself another minute, he rolled her onto her back, unfastened the rest of her negligée, and pushed the fragile lace aside with his fingers, then closed his eyes and attempted to steady his ragged breathing. The peignoir, which had been a bridal gift from Maya, had no more fastenings underneath, and the whole thing was now open.

All the times that Larry had been around Iris, working alongside one another from dusk till dawn, she’d always been wearing her shapeless nun garments and he’d figured that he had seen more of her than he could have ever hoped to see. Moreover, even the cumbersome wedding gown she’d worn earlier, while slightly more figure-flattering than the shrine maiden attire, had given him no indication whatsoever as to what lay beneath.

Consequently, up until now, the groom had never been privy to the fact that his gorgeous wife had perfectly shaped, toned legs and graceful hips, a tiny waist, and magnificent breasts. His genteel intentions to postpone marital consummation until the following morning had flown out the window, but his newfound plans for a leisurely night of lovemaking seemed nigh impossible as his nether regions swelled with alarming urgency.

Iris anxiously watched as he leaned upon his elbow while his eyes journeyed over her bare body for the first time. But when she saw them close, her heart sank as she realized he was attempting to mask his discontent. Unsure of what else to say or do, she bit her lip and shakily whispered, “I’m sorry that I’m such a disappointment to you after all this time. Is there anything I can still try to do that would please you, at least somewhat?”

His eyes snapped open and widened in disbelief that quickly morphed into explicit hunger as his golden gaze now roamed unapologetically over every inch of her naked glory in a heated gaze that felt as explicit as a caress.

“Disappointment?” He finally tore his eyes away from her flawlessness, his voice hoarse as he slid a hand around her waist and pulled her closer. “Sweet Jesus, you’ve got to be kidding me. Even the mere sight of you is making me practically lose my mind!”

Her heart fluttered.

“Does that mean,” she whispered unsteadily, hoping against hope that she understood him properly, “that you do find me pleasing, husband?”

“Does champagne have bubbles?!” He exclaimed, too mind-boggled by her excessive modesty to stop the jejune words before they tumbled out. “You have the most beautiful body I’ve ever seen, Iris. It’s meant to be worshiped and enjoyed. I need to remind myself to hold back, for I’d never want to disappoint you,

because you are sheer, exquisite perfection and I want you so damn much.”

She had never been seduced by words before, had never known their sweet wanton power. They were as sensuous as the kiss that followed it … just as his hastily discarded towel hit the floor.

He leaned down to capture her lips with his own, his tongue penetrating her moistness; his mouth sucked her tongue into his. He kissed her until she was achy, breathless, and clinging to him.

Their lips parted and clasped onto one another once again with more pressure. Larry’s hands roamed over every inch of her uncovered flesh. Their kiss grew greedier, their mouths locking tighter. The heat flowing throughout her body began to grow as she felt his hand slide down to cup one full breast in his hand, feeling her quickened heartbeat at the unfamiliar sensation of his touch. Reluctantly, Iris removed her lips from Larry’s, leaning frailly back against the pillows so she could catch her breath. Her eyes leisurely began to open, eyelids relaxed as she slowly sucked in a quaking breath as she stared up into his tender gaze.

Drawing him down to her, she rested her forehead upon his as her hand slipped back onto his bare-skinned chest while she breathed into his ear. “I love you.”

Larry’s slow breath emanated the same words. Their lips captured once more before letting go.

She arched against him, reaching for him. “I want to touch you.”

He moved slightly to grant her access, and her hands eased down his lean, toned physique, over his flat belly, and then trailed even lower, adoring him with her touch. He jolted. She felt his breath stop, and something deep inside her bloomed, making her caresses even bolder.

It took a while for him to find himself again.

“I want all of you tonight, Lawrence,” Iris emitted in a voice she nearly didn’t recognize as her own. “Everything you’ve got to give me.”

His heart went wild as he drew her closer and up against him. “As you wish.”

The splendor of her femininity lay bare beneath him, the sweet scent of her filling his head as he positioned himself over his wife. He raised her hand to his lips and kissed the palm, then it carried downward, acquainting her with the dimension, power, and strength of his desire for her, before joining them together at last.

He moved in gentle unison with her, increasing the depth and tempo of each thrust indiscernibly, but when she crushed her sweet lips against his and matched each undulation of his hips with her own, while lifting her knee to give him deeper access, Larry still tried his best to slow them both down, even as he felt the universe beginning to come apart.

Iris rocked beneath him, sensing his reticence. Even in the midst of his need, she felt the tenderness in his restraint, and it brought tears to her eyes. But the sensation of his fullness was like a hot wire against her nerve ends. He would give her what she needed. She was sure of it. The certainty gave her the freedom to take.

“Iris,” he groaned hoarsely. She kissed him, an open-mouthed invitation that he took. Every movement was pulling at her, dragging her closer. Every shift gave a breathtaking hint of mindless rapture that seemed to grow with each second. She shuddered and clutched his shoulders for strength, losing herself as his heated tongue twined against hers. They stroked each other to a primal beat. Gently. Thoughtfully. Thoroughly. With each impelling movement of their bodies in a perfectly blended, harmonious rhythm.

The air around them crackled as their storm of passion threatened to bring them down.

At last, he felt her quivering beneath him, and he knew she was close to the edge, and that he wouldn’t be far behind. Her breath was choppy; her flushed breasts rose and fell with each shallow pant. “You don’t have to wait for me, darling.”

He looked surprised, then smiled tenderly. “Yes, I do.”

“No, really. You don’t have to do that for me.”

“I’m not,” he said hoarsely. “I’m doing it for me.”

Iris gave a joyful little gasp when he slid his splayed hands beneath her hips. He rubbed his face against her stiffened peaks, once, twice, letting her feel his cheeks, chin, nose, and lips against them. Then he bent his head, touching his tongue to the taut peak, drawing it into the warmth of his mouth, and she moaned as electric sparks jolted through her. Her back arched as she slid her fingers through his hair, needing something to hold on to. She felt his intimate caresses on her flesh within in her blood, his need in her heart.

He mastered her mouth and her body, murmuring words lovingly in her ear the whole time until she was nearly weeping as she reached the pinnacle of pleasure, which flooded over her like a tidal wave, a solid wall of incredible gratification that took her past the point of return. Ripples of ecstasy flooded through her, changing her, making her indelibly his at last.

Distantly, Larry heard her cries, and they touched him as nothing ever had. He moved onto his side, taking Iris with him, still a part of her. He felt the first rush and jerked. His blood roared through his veins like wildfire, burning and stinging. He buried his face in her shoulder and muffled his shout. Then, surrendering to the longest, hottest release of his life, he joined his wife in a world where he’d never been.

Sometime later, his bride’s tresses spilling over his naked chest like a rumpled satin waterfall, Larry lifted a trembling hand to smooth it off her face, feeling humbled and blessed by her sweetness and unselfish ardor as he stared at the sleeping beauty in his arms, his heart so filled with love he thought it would surely burst.

Several minutes later, Iris stirred in his arms, and he tipped her chin up so that he could gaze into her eyes. “Have I ever told you, my magnificent wife, that you take my breath away?”

She started to shake her head, then suddenly remembered that he’d told her she was a woman of breathtaking beauty once before, on Valentine’s Day, when she’d told him that he was the beautiful one. It had also been the very day she’d realized how seemingly hopelessly in love with him she’d fallen, and the recollection brought nostalgic tears to her eyes.

“Yes, I do recall you saying that to me.” She brushed her fingers over his smooth shoulder because she couldn’t seem to stop touching him. “You told me that when we were together –”

“At my secluded paradise area by the lake, when I made you paint,” he finished for her, recalling the occasion as well. In reply she had chided him for acting so ungentlemanly to her heartfelt compliment, Larry remembered, regretting all the time they had lost since then…the days and nights she could have been in his arms as she was now.

“Do you know how I spent the rest of the afternoon after you we parted ways?” he asked softly. When she shook her head, he smiled wryly. “I spent it pleasurably wishing for a night like tonight. At the time, of course, I never could have imagined, in my wildest dreams or fantasies, it would ever happen!”

He paused to draw the sheet up over her back so she wouldn’t be chilled, then he continued in the same quiet voice.

“I wanted you so badly that day that I ached as I remembered the radiance of your smile when you said I was beautiful, and the warmth of your skin when I put my hand over yours, as I helped you paint the sunset on the canvas of your masterpiece. Although,” he added dryly, “my heart throbbing for you, brought on from seven years of loving you prior, hadn’t been joined by such physical longing until then! It became my normal state these last six months, when I’d see the ethereal woman of my dreams every day, all the while thinking she belonged to my best friend, so I’d gotten quite accustomed to it!”

“Oh, Lawrence!” She groaned despairingly, fully prepared to lament all the time they’d lost, but he silenced her with a kiss.

“In fact, I can’t help but now wonder if I’ll miss it!” He added teasingly when she eyed him blankly.

“What do you mean?” Iris asked, realizing that he was perfectly serious despite his light tone.

“The agony of unfulfilled desire,” he explained, brushing a kiss on her forehead, “brought on by wanting you.”

“Wanting me?” She burst out, rearing up so abruptly that she nearly overturned him as she leaned up on an elbow, absently clutching the sheet to her chest. “I mean, as in desiring me? To do, um, what we just did?”

“I’d like to think of what we just did as making love. After all, it is the 21st century!” He lightly tapped her nose. “I’d hope it’d no longer be deemed to be an act of merely performing one’s marital duty.”

“It most definitely was no binding chore,” she acknowledged shyly, although still astonished that any man could have ever desired her to a point where it caused him physical pain. “So, now that your daydreams have, er, become a reality, was it … everything you’d hoped it could be?”

Her swan-like humble need to ask such a question was the most adorable thing in the world. Larry barely resisted the urge to pinch himself to prove she was real.

“You have no idea, milady, just how much you’ve surpassed every possible fantasy I could have ever envisioned.” His lips quirked in a half-smile. “More than words could ever say.”

A rosy flush stained her fair cheeks, and despite her effort to sound severe, her eyes were lit with laughter.

“Yet on Valentine’s Day, I asked if there was something you’d ever wanted very badly, and you said no…”

“I  lied my ass off!” He told her cheerfully, laughing as she playfully swatted him on the arm. “But I also recall that I posed the same question back at you, and you gave me an equally glib response!”

“I guess we’re both a couple of liars, who were simply made for each other then?” She asked sheepishly. “I mean, it’s pretty obvious now what we both wanted back then, but wouldn’t have dared utter aloud!”

“You mean my everlasting love and desire for you?” He agreed, tenderly brushing his knuckles over her flushed cheek. “Which, by the way, I rejoice in knowing was not wholly one-sided.”

“Had I known all this,” she confessed with a rueful smile, “I’m certain I would have asked for additional stipulations when I accepted your marriage proposal.”

That startled him – the thought that she would have tried to drive a harder bargain if she’d realized exactly how much and what sort of power she wielded over him.

“What sort of additional stipulations?” He asked guardedly.

“More like concessions, if you will.” She put her cheek against his shoulder, her arms curving around him. “A shorter troth. A shorter ceremony, and even shorter wedding reception.”

Considering they had been engaged and then married within barely more than an hour, this declaration sent a sharp jolt through him, as he realized exactly what was being implied, and what she wished had transpired sooner between them, subsequently.

“I had no idea I had married such a wanton,” Larry chuckled as he traced his finger along the elegant curve of her jaw. “But now, I must insist you get some sleep, milady. We’ve had an incredibly long day and an even longer night, and we still have to be up early tomorrow to sign the marriage license at Edgy’s office, immediately followed by a long plane ride to Italy! However, all of my gentlemanly restraint and concern for your rest is going to be thrown out the window if you insist on continuing to view me the way you are right now.”

“In what way would that be?” Iris coquettishly fluttered her long eyelashes at him, but the coy smile that accompanied it revealed much more than she could ever hope to conceal. “Are you trying to insinuate this bed was going to be put to another use… again?”

“I wasn’t insinuating, I was flat-out saying it!”

Obediently, she closed her eyes and snuggled in his arms. Her fingertips lifted to lightly brush the hair from his temple; a few minutes later, they slipped down his shoulder to his chest. Larry felt his body’s instant response and tried to control the amounting passion that Iris was inadvertently igniting with her sleepy caresses. When her hand drifted down the planes of his stomach, he caught it and held it firmly in his own to prevent its further dissent. He thought he heard her smothered giggle as she turned in apparent sleep and her lips touched his ear.

Leaning back, he gazed suspiciously into her face and saw that she was wide awake, her eyes aglow with love.

In one quick, smooth motion, Larry rolled Iris over onto her back and pressed her into the pillows, his body half covering hers.

“Forgive me, husband of mine, but I’m not in the least bit sleepy,” his wife declared, looking like an innocent goddess with her softly tousled hair spilling over her shoulders despite the naughty sparkle in her orbs. “You know you’re in love when you can’t fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.”

“You’re certain you don’t want to sleep?” Larry brushed his fingertips over her cheek, still marveling at her vivid beauty, even though there was a knowing glint in his eye. “Then what would you like to do, milady?”

In answer, Iris blinked innocently at him and blushed, then quickly hid her overheated face against his shoulder.

“I suppose we could do that, even if this means sleep will be non-existent for either of us tonight, and Edgy undoubtedly will notice that our eyes will be barely opened slits as we sign the paperwork!” He was laughing as he shifted her on top of him and wrapped his arms around her. “Although don’t say I didn’t warn you!”

“Don’t worry, darling.” Her blush had vanished entirely as she treated him to her most vixenish grin. “I won’t.”

Something stirred in him at the transformation of this shrinking violet-turned-seductress nymph, who somehow, miraculously, fate had determined would be his, for the rest of his life.

Iris Elizabeth Hawthorne, now Butz.

His wife.

She was everything he’d ever dreamed she could be and more.

Once again, he was overwhelmed by just how lucky a man he truly was.

The amusement fled from Larry’s face and with a groan he pulled her roughly against his chest, crushing her to him.

“My beautiful Iris,” he whispered hoarsely, burying his face in her fragrant hair. “How I love you.”

Iris melted against him, moulding her curves to the rigid contours of his body, offering her lips down to his in a fierce, devouring kiss, then she took his face between both her hands. Leaning back slightly, her melting chocolate eyes gazing deeply into his amber ones, his wife replied in a shaky voice, “I think, Lawrence Butz, that I love you more.”

AN: Thanks to great readers, FF writers, and friends, Napoleon32 for the Iris/Dahlia headcanon, and Ilet Moratar for her hilarious Wrightworth ball-busting of the Butz!

I hope you enjoyed Larris’ final send-off. Next chapter we find out what shenanigans Maya has in store with that video camera, and then off to Miles Edgeworth land! Despite his surly disposition, I’m sure for certain readers this will still be one of the happiest places on earth! 😆

Celine Dion – Because You Loved Me
KC and Jojo – All My Life