As soon as Mal and Poet turned and made their way down the aisle, Jasmine and Chad exited the sanctuary in the opposite direction. Chad's song had been beautiful and she wished they could stay for the reception, but Chad wanted the event to remain focused on Mal and Poet, and with his celebrity, it probably wouldn't have if they'd stayed.
Ember leaned over to Faith, who had been sitting beside her during the ceremony. "I'm concerned about the photographer." She'd been watching the man snap pictures during the ceremony. Pictures that included Joey.
Faith glanced over at the man and smiled. "That's Paul. He works for Guardian. It was one of the things Jason required of Mal for the wedding. He's taken family pictures of us and of Reece's birthday parties. Those pictures are going to be scrubbed. Just like the guest list was."
Ember blinked. "Guardian vetted the wedding guests?"
"Every last one of them," Faith chuckled. "You get used to it."
"I guess." Ember's gaze swept over the people in the church. She saw it then. The security teams around the outside of the crowd. Men in suits that were not engaged in conversation but were actively watching the crowd. Wow, she'd been at the ranch and then at The Rose for so long she had forgotten the steps taken to protect the Kings that worked in D.C.
Faith nodded to Joseph, who'd escorted the maid of honor to the narthex of the church. "Is Joseph going to the reception with the wedding party?"
"Yes, all four of them are riding in the limo. I was going to catch a ride with someone."
"You can ride with us." Faith tapped Jason on the shoulder. He turned from his conversation with Jacob and put his arm around his wife. "Ember is going to ride with us to the reception, okay?"
"Absolutely." Jason smiled at Ember. "He wore a tux."
Jacob smiled and nodded at the photographer. "I have proof."
"I want a copy of every picture of him wearing it, please!" Ember smiled widely at the thought of framing a picture of them together in formal wear. The photographer had taken several of them together before the ceremony.
Mal and Poet entered the reception to rousing applause. Maliki swept her into his arms and they danced their first dance together as man and wife.
Ember felt Joseph behind her. She leaned back into his arms.
"Have I told you today how much I love you?" he whispered against her hair.
"I think you said you loved me when I left the room this morning for breakfast." Joey's fingers rippled over her ribs, tickling her. She wiggled away from him, laughing. "Go, you have to do the best man thing. You are required to give a toast, you know."
Joey rolled his eyes and then closed them. "Oh, that hurt, didn't it? Poor baby." Ember cupped his cheek with her hand. "Not quite recovered?"
He opened one eye. "Recovered enough to want to eat you alive."
"There's my big, bad wolf. Go do what you need to do. We can feast later."
“It was a lovely wedding, wasn’t it?” Ember’s head laid against Joey's shoulder as they moved across the dance floor later that night. The tux he wore fit perfectly. She ran her hand down the fine wool fabric. He could have posed for a fashion spread. His dark good looks and the silver at his temples plus the Adonis body. Joey was her first and only true love. The man was fierce and hovered, but there wasn’t a better father or husband on the planet.
“Mmm…” That was Joseph talk for it was okay and not as big of a deal as he made it out to be, but he’d never admit it.
“How do you feel?” Ember leaned away a bit and gazed up at him.
“Perfect when you are in my arms.” He leaned down and kissed her. The possession in his kiss hadn’t changed in the years since they’d married. He made her feel cherished and needed every moment of every day.
Ember smiled up at him when he lifted away. “Did you ever think we’d have a chance at being this happy?”
Joseph shook his head and moved them out of another couple’s way with fluid grace. “Never, that’s why I cherish every minute with you. I can’t wait to have you to myself for the next two weeks.”
“You say the most remarkable things.” She sighed against him. Obviously, he didn’t remember inviting everyone they knew to Aruba. As much as she didn’t want to shatter his illusion for the future, she needed to remind him of what he’d done. Ember stopped moving and stared up at him, her eyes narrowed and searching, just to be positively sure he wasn’t playing with her.
“What? Is something wrong? Do you need a doctor?” He cupped her cheek in his hand and scrutinized her.
“No, I’m not the one who is going to need a doctor. Do you remember what happened last night?”
“Too much bourbon. Thank God everyone I give a fuck about has now done the wedding thing. I’m not doing that again.” He stared down at her. “What?”
“Joey, you invited everyone to Aruba. With us. As in, everyone is planning to fly down after the wedding.”
He stopped. “No, I didn’t.”
“You did. Gabriel and Jason worked all day today to cover responsibilities. From what the Coven told me, everyone is coming. Even Joy and Dixon.”
“I didn’t invite anyone.” He ground the words out through his clenched teeth. There was no way on God’s green earth that he would have… His eyes cut to Dixon and Drake, who were talking with Mike. He searched for Jacob and found him on the dance floor with Tori. “The motherfucking bastards.”
He grabbed Ember’s hand and weaved through the dancing couples. He stood directly behind Jacob and dropped a hand on his brother’s shoulder. The little shit’s smile dropped as soon as he looked around. “Hey, what’s up?”
“What’s up is that I’m going to kill you.” Joseph shoved a finger in his brother’s chest. “You and that dynamic duo of horse shit put this all together. It was your brainchild to have a drinking game. You set me up.”
Jacob’s eyes flared before he smiled. “It only took you twenty hours to figure that out? Damn, old man, you’re slipping.”
“The only thing that will slip is my hands around your throat.” The low threat made his brother’s face pale a bit.
“It was Double D’s idea.” Jacob pointed to his men. “If you kill me, kill them, too.”
“Nobody is getting killed.” Ember grabbed her husband’s arm. “It serves you right for drinking like a teenager.”
“Yeah, what she said.” Jacob smiled and nodded.
“Jacob, please, don’t make this worse.” Tori stood in front of her husband. “You are just as much to blame as he is, Joseph. Imagine what a world this would be if you both grew up.”
“What she said,” Ember agreed with Tori.
Joseph jerked his head toward her. “You’re okay with this?”
Ember nodded. “I don’t have a problem with it at all. We’ll have our evenings together. All alone. All night. Every night. We have more than enough parents to take turns watching our son. Our nights alone. Nonnegotiable.”
Tori agreed. “Right, we already talked about that.”
“We?” Joseph shot a glance between the two women.
“The Coven,” Ember filled him in. “Like I said, they are all coming.”
“We don’t have enough rooms.” Joseph crossed his arms and gave his brother another pointed glare.
“Gabriel rented a villa about a mile away. Frank and Amanda are planning on staying there, and whoever arrives after the house fills up will be welcome, too.” Tori shrugged. “It’s settled. Getting into a pissing contest at Mal and Poet’s wedding will not change anything.”
Ember’s husband’s jaw clenched as he stared at his brother. “Just know that payback is a bitch, little man.”
Jacob smiled. “I can’t wait.” His laughter floated around them.
Ember glanced at Tori, who sighed and shook her head. “For God’s sake, Jacob, stop poking the tiger.” Tori pulled Jacob away as Jason and Faith danced by. The smile on Jason’s face narrowed Joey’s eyes even further. “My entire family was in on it. So be it. They’ll pay for it.
Individually or together, I’ll make them pay for this little prank.”
“What are you plotting?”
“Revenge.” He smiled down at her. “Sweet, unadulterated revenge.”
She lifted her eyebrows. “Nobody gets hurt.”
Joseph shrugged. “Not my fault they started it. I’ll finish it.”
“Let me clarify, Joey. Family equals no blood, no loss of limbs, no weapons, no one gets physically hurt or emotionally scarred.”
“Noted.” He stepped back and led her in a waltz. A sneer spread across his face.
Oh, dear, that didn’t bode well for anyone. What had those idiots done?
Chapter 4
Joseph strode down the long hallway to the kitchen. “Consuela.” He enfolded the small, birdlike woman into his arms. She never changed. She was always flitting about with a smile on her face. The woman was a beam of sunshine that had been with him since he bought the residence years ago.
“Oh sir, it is good to see you.” She peeked behind him. “The missus is not here?”
Joseph motioned to the table. “She’s upstairs unpacking and taking a shower. She told me she called about the unexpected guests we’d be having?”
“Oh, yes. I have many hands to help. I stocked the pantry, the linens are fresh, and the rooms have been aired out. I prepare us for your family, sir. I’m happy that the house is filled with laughter again.” Her angelic face beamed up at him.
“Right.” He rubbed his neck. “I wanted to have a private celebration with the missus. We are expecting our second child.”
Consuela closed her eyes and clasped her hands to her chest. “Praise be, sir. Blessings on all of you.”
“Ah, thank you. I’m going to need your help. They blew my plans to he… ah… smithereens when my brothers decided they were going to encroach on my vacation.”
“Of course, sir. Anything you need.” Consuela smiled up at him.
“All right, now, this is going to be a secret, so you can’t tell a soul.”
“Even José, sir?” She mentioned her husband, who also worked for him.
“No, you’ll need to tell José everything and we’ll need to meet several times to make sure this comes together.”
“Of course! Anything, sir. Anything.” Consuela flew across the kitchen for a pad of paper and pencil. “What do you need?”
A self-satisfied smile spread across his face. Yeah, he was going to have every one of those assholes pulling rabbits out of their asses. Fuck with my private time with my woman and you will pay.
The vast window to the ocean was open and the white gauze curtains fluttered in the constant onshore breeze. Joseph shut the doors firmly behind him and locked them. He had no idea when the horde would descend, but before they did, he was spending some quality time with Ember. Exhausted after the reception, Ember had fallen asleep before he’d taken off his tux. He glanced at the closet. He had to admit the suit fit him well, and the way Ember had looked at him when he’d stood up on that dais—he didn’t mind the cost. It was worth every penny.
He unbuttoned his white cotton shirt and dropped it on a chair on the way to the bathroom. The soft fall of water told him where his wife was. He dropped his slacks and kicked them toward the wall. He turned the corner and focused on the steamed-up glass of the shower. Ember’s soft curves beyond the glass called to him as strongly as they had when he was a randy teenager. He kicked off his boxers and pulled the door open, stepping into a cloud of steam.
Ember turned around and smiled. That happiness in her eyes, it was his drug of choice. He’d do anything in the world to keep it there. “Hi, Momma.” He reached for her and pulled her into him. Soon, her stomach would swell with their baby. For a man who’d spent most of his adult life dispensing death, the miracle of birth fascinated him.
“Hi, Daddy.” She wound her arms around his neck. “I’m going to get fat again.”
“You were never fat.” He leaned down and kissed her. “I loved seeing Blake grow inside you.”
He tucked her close and tightened his grip on her. He’d tabled their normal lovemaking the second he found out she was pregnant. There was no way he’d stress her body or their baby because of his kink. The love he had for his wife was enough. Hell, it was more than enough, and if Ember never wanted to get her freak on again, he’d live a fulfilled, happy life. Admitting that to himself had been… liberating. Being normal—well… normal-ish, having what some would call a day job and working to grow Guardian’s elite was fulfilling, but it was Ember and Blake that had tamed the inner beast that had always dwelled deep inside him.
“Are you upset?” Ember arched her back and looked up at him.
He blinked at her question. “At what?”
“Oh, gee, do you want me to list the reasons? Our unplanned pregnancy? Your brothers and family inviting themselves down? I know they tricked you into inviting them.” Ember chuckled. “Maybe at not having me naked all day long or having the house and beach to ourselves. Take your pick.”
He rolled his eyes and grabbed her shampoo, dispensing a palmful into his hand. “I told you exactly how happy I was that we are having another baby. Planned or not.” He turned her around and worked the shampoo through her hair. She moaned and reached back, holding his hips as she tipped her head back. Her soft ass pushed into his hardening cock. He leaned forward and whispered in her ear. “I love the idea of another child. I want Blake to have a little brother or sister, and I’d love to have as many kids as you’re willing to give me. I love you.” He kissed her temple and walked them forward into the water’s spray to work the suds out of her hair.
She wiped the water out of her eyes and blinked up at him. “What about your family showing up?”
He turned her around and grabbed the soap. He lathered it in his hands as he stared at her. “I don’t want to talk about my family right now.”
Ember smiled. “No? What do you want to talk about?”
“Absolutely nothing.” He reached forward and caressed her skin with his soapy hands. She waggled her eyebrows and grabbed his shaft. He jerked when she rolled his balls in her hand. He fused their lips together and backed her into the cold tile of the shower wall. Her soft gasp as the cold registered flicked his desire higher. He braced his feet and reached down, cupping her ass. He lifted her, sliding her up the wet tile until she could wrap her legs around him.
He stared at the rose flush the hot water and desire had placed on her chest, neck, and face. She reached between them and centered his cock under her core. He shook his head. “You’re not ready yet.”
She loosened her legs and her body dropped onto the head of his shaft. Her heat gripped him. His eyes closed in pleasure. Her lips next to his ear whispered, “Oh, believe me, I’m ready. I don’t know what you’re going to do with your wife, Mr. King. She has been unnaturally horny during this first trimester. Her hormones are running amok.”
“I guess I must endure her urges. Take one for the team, so to speak.” He flexed his hips and slid deeper inside of his wife.
“You must take more than one, slugger. Momma wants sex all the time.” She leaned in and sucked his bottom lip between her teeth and bit down, sending a lightning bolt of lust through him. Still, he held her carefully. As much as she assured him that sex couldn’t hurt the baby, the inner caveman-slash-protector in him refused to take her too deep or too hard. Ember was his life. His family was the reason he’d lived; hell, he’d done more than lived, he’d flourished. He’d die before he’d let anyone hurt them.
Their bodies worked together in a coordinated dance. He broke free from their kiss and inhaled tremendous pulls of air. Her nails dug into the skin of his back. The sting catapulted him toward that fucking cliff. He felt her body contract as she neared her own climax. He slipped a hand from under her and found the swell of her breast. His fingers tightened on the nipple and he squeezed slightly.
“Joey.” Ember gasped his name seconds before her body seized around him. She clung to him as he
moved in and out of her warm body, chasing his own release. He lowered his head to her shoulder and kissed, then bit the juncture of her neck and shoulder as he came.
“So good.” Her words between gasps for oxygen satisfied that inner caveman, even if he didn’t let the bastard out to play. He shifted, made sure she was okay, and slowly lowered her to her feet, giving her support to stand until she found her legs again.
He pulled her into him and rocked with her under the warm water. “I love you.” She murmured her words against his chest, but he understood them. Hell, he knew the truth of those words down into the smallest atom of his DNA.
He smoothed her hair away from her neck and slid his hand around the fragile column. Tipping her head back, he waited for those beautiful eyes to open. “I love you more than my life itself. I want as many babies as you’ll give me. My family is a pain in the ass, but they always have been. I’m not mad. I’m not upset. I’m in love with you and I’m going to be a dad again. I never thought I could be this happy, and that’s all due to you. Because you cared enough to take a chance on me and come to Aruba all those years ago.”
“I’d do it again. Over and over.”
He smiled. “Good.” He slowly lowered to one knee. “Ember King, would you do me the honor of renewing your vows with me next week on the beach in front of our pain in the ass family which will probably include about a dozen screaming children, give or take?”
She tipped her head back and laughed before she leaned forward. “Joseph King, I would love to renew my vows with you.” She cupped his cheeks and kissed him. “Your family would never believe what a hopeless romantic you are.”
Promises (The Kings of Guardian Book 14) Page 3
