by Piper Malone
“We just went on a date, my bold, virginal girlfriend. If you miss me so much, maybe you should put less space between us.” Her jaw drops, a silent smile curving her beautiful mouth. She dropped the ruse so quickly I had to put her back on track. She wants to run this reunion, so I’ll let her. “You better hurry, though. I can feel the pressure.”
She stills my hands with hers. “I love when you are rough with yourself,” she says, “but for our first time”—she pauses, her arms draped over my shoulder—“I need you to be gentle with me.”
My white-hot cockhead skims the creamy flesh of her thighs. It’s all too much, too slow. I’m going to explode.
“Tell me what you want.”
“Kiss me. Let me feel you.”
Our tongues tangle, softening the eager whimpers pushing from her throat. Skyler’s body curves against me, every smooth inch of her skin pressed to mine. She pushes me back to sit on the edge of the bed. Her fingers weave through my hair, peppering kisses along the bend of my neck. The nip of her teeth against my earlobe forces a hiss from my throat, unexpected and satisfying.
Skyler inches closer, her graceful legs stepping over mine, opening her thighs and exposing heaven. She moves over me, her warm slit cradling my erection as her hips glide her decadent heat over me.
Her position allows me full access to the delicate bend of her neck, mere inches from her port scar. Hungry for her, my arm braces her before my lips graze the puckered flesh. Skyler stiffens, pushing back against my arm. Her resistance is fleeting. I feel her inhale. At her exhale, I kiss her again, my tongue soothing along the damaged skin. Her eyes close, her head tilts back, and a mournful moan echoes in the room, begging me to worship the places that felt so much pain.
“Skyler, can I keep going?”
She nods, her body pressing back into my arms and exposing her chest. “I can’t feel much . . . The surgery damages the nerves.” Her hesitation catches in her throat. “They aren’t going to feel the same.”
“We will seek out every erogenous zone. Have no fears about that. I need to make sure you are comfortable with my touch before we go any further.”
She issues a tight nod and leans back, her hands resting on my thighs to open herself to me.
My rough hands skim across her soft belly, warming her to my touch. She inhales, shifting against the sensation of my touch.
“I missed you so much, my angel.”
Her head rolls back as I shift closer to her breasts.
“I want you to watch me, Sky,” I grate out as my fingers touch the scar of her breast. “If you can’t feel, I want you to see.”
She inhales, and I know she’s finding her strength. Her eyes widen and pool with emotion as she watches me kiss her scar and lick against the curve of her breast she feared I would hate.
“Is it—” Her voices hitches. “It is okay?”
“It’s you, Skyler. It’s perfect.”
“Nick,” she croons, “I missed you so much. Please,” she begs, “I need you.”
“I can’t go another minute without you.”
Her hands fumble between our legs until she finds my aching cock. Skyler seats herself, pressing down hard to capture every inch of me. Her slick body moves against mine, marking me as her own.
We’ve done this before, but never like this. Never in the guise of starting something new. Of starting over.
“Yes,” she pants, opening her eyes wide and staring at me with brilliant blue eyes. “Yes. More.” Skyler’s hands weave into my hair, her fingers tangling and tugging. Her kisses become demanding, her tongue pressing into my mouth.
And I am hers.
I lean back as she sits up, still perched on my cock. “You feel so good, Nick,” she groans as she plants her hands on my stomach and shifts her hips. “I’ve wanted this for so long.”
“Take what you want. Whatever I have is yours.”
Chapter 31
Skyler
Every step is an aching reminder of last night. My thighs radiate with the tension of overused muscles. I am exhausted. Yet here we are, taking a tour around town like we didn’t have only two hours of sleep.
In all fairness, I made him lie on his back most of the night. It wasn’t until very early this morning that he said he wanted more fair play. I agreed. In a moment, he was hovering over me, and then everywhere for hours. Hands, mouth, every inch of his rigid body marking me inside and out. Nick worshiped my body. He whispered his adoration for every inch of my skin. Once he was inside me, a torrent of untamed fire filled the room. He was free and devoid of restraint. I could feel him claim me as his own.
I think I love him just a little bit more despite the town tour he agreed we would take with our friends.
“This graveyard is the oldest in town,” Ben calls out across the group. “The church was established in the late 1700s as the town’s central hub for community needs and worship.”
“If this mayoral thing doesn’t work out, he can be the town tour guide,” I hear Jude mumble to Nick.
“For Christmas, let’s get him one of those neon flags that old ladies use to keep a group of tourists looking inconspicuous,” Nick replies through a snicker.
“Is there a question in the back?” Ben calls over Caleb, Reagan, Blake, Kat, and Ax. All of them turn to look at us.
“None at all, Benjamin,” Jude replies.
Ben rolls his eyes, ignoring the sheltered laugh emanating from the three of us, and leads us through the small cemetery and into the historic church.
Since the storm, the majority of the town has been cleared enough to take everyone on a tour of the area. Ben offered to show our friends around, since he is, as Nick put it, Mr. Rockland. Jude joined us after we stopped in the shop to get Ax scheduled for a hunting trip.
“We would come here on holidays,” Nick says quietly as we enter the old church.
The church is nothing more than a large room lined with ten pews on each side and a small platform for sermons. On either side of the pulpit, two alcoves house statues, one of Mary and another of two angels peering down at the floor, their soft smiles welcoming whoever chooses to kneel before them.
The church has a gothic feel. It’s quaint and intimate, but it pulses with a spiritual energy that I can’t quite explain.
“It’s beautiful.” The words are hushed, quieted by an ambiance of low lighting.
“I’ve always loved it,” Nick replies, his thumb brushing over the intricate floral carving adorning the pew.
I watch our little group disperse, splintering off to explore different parts of the building. Ben leads Reagan, Caleb, and Ax down a hallway to show them the original stained glass window. Blake stands in front of the smiling angel statues, his fiancé rooted in place before Mary.
Blake looks over his shoulder to make sure the coast is clear. “Hey, doll,” he calls to Kat. “I bet if these were your guardian angels, they’d be crying by now.”
Her head turns slightly, acknowledging the dig, but she doesn’t spar with him. I hear her inhale; a sniff vibrates against the barren walls of the church.
“Kat?” Blake’s voice bleeds concern as he moves toward her. Kat’s tear-soaked sob echoes against the pulpit as Blake reaches her and wraps her in his arms. “Hey, I was kidding.”
“No,” she mumbles into this shirt, “not that.” She wipes away her tears. “I think you’re right about that.” Kat sniffs and inhales a stuttered breath. “I don’t know.” She looks around the church. “I just had this thought about how great this place feels, and I thought about us . . .”
“Yeah?” A look of concern skitters across his face.
“I don’t know. It’s weird, but I had this rush of good vibes, and I think I want to get married here.”
“You want to get married here?” Blake looks around. “Kat, my family is huge. They’ll be spilling out of this place.”
“I know.” She inhales and looks at the statue of Mary before turning back to Blake. “I just feel like this pl
ace is special.”
“I don’t know if we can even get married here?” Blake looks at Nick.
Nick shrugs. “I don’t know, but Ben would.”
“Ben would what?” Ben asks as he enters into the sanctuary.
“Sleep with anything that walks, but that’s not for church,” Nick jabs before turning serious. “Kat wants to get married here.”
“Wait.” Reagan pushes past Ax and Caleb like they are giant balloons, bobbing in the wake of her force. “What? When did this happen?”
“Now.” Kat’s eyes look a little wild. “I don’t know. I was here, and I looked at that statue, and I thought about getting married, and it all feels very right, and I want to do it. Now.”
“You want to get married now? Like, as in today?” Blake looks borderline exasperated.
Nick pulls me into a pew and wraps his arm around my shoulders. “Sit with me,” he whispers. “This is going to be a good show.”
Ax follows suit, the old pew creaking under his heavy form. “Easy, Thor,” Nick mumbles. “That’s an antique.”
“Shut up,” Ax spits through clenched teeth, not taking his eyes off Kat and Blake.
“Can that even happen? Can you get married here?” Reagan seems to be taking the logical route.
“Are you really considering this? You just got engaged. Do your families know?” Caleb counters.
Kat’s legs bounce with an odd anxiety. “I don’t know, but it feels right.” She turns to Blake. “Can you feel it? Am I crazy?”
Blake hesitates. “No. Not crazy. Just . . . abrupt. This isn’t Vegas, Kat. We can’t just get married.”
“Actually,” Ben chimes in, “you can. It’s just some paperwork. There is no waiting period. You can go to the municipal office and have the ceremony the same day.”
“You need an officiant,” Caleb says. “Who is going to marry you?”
“Evan’s ordained,” Jude offers. “He married two guys who wanted to get hitched in Acadia a few months ago.” He makes a show of pulling his phone from his pocket. “Let me see if I can get in touch with him.”
Everyone stands in silence as Jude leaves the sanctuary, chattering to Evan about his schedule. Moments later, Ben excuses himself as well. His brothers might be close, but Ben seems to have realized very quickly that this clan needs a family meeting.
“Are you sure, doll?” Blake asks. “What about our families?”
“Are you not sure?” she replies. “What does it matter? We get married here and have a destination wedding a year from now. No one will be the wiser. This is a friend wedding; that will be a family wedding. People do it all the time.”
“This quick, though?” Ax asks the obvious question. “Kat, it took you guys a long time to get here.”
“I can’t explain it. It just feels right.” Kat looks at Ax with a softness I have never seen before. Whatever has transpired between them has knit these two very close. “Walk me down the aisle?”
Ax leans back, his mouth pressed together as he swallows hard. “Of course,” he replies.
Kat squeals her excitement and hugs Ax. “Great! Thank you! Now, you two,” she says, pointing to Reagan and me. “We need dresses and stuff.”
“Me?” I ask, stunned at the invitation.
“Yeah.” Kat looks confused. “Someone needs to help Nick look pretty.”
“So who will help Ax?” Blake asks.
“No, dude,” Ax replies and points to Kat. “She picked me first. I’m on her team. You can have these two,” he says with gestures to Caleb and Nick. “I’ll stay with her in case you decide to be an idiot. Weddings make people stupid.”
“I wasn’t stupid,” Caleb challenges, and Reagan lovingly pats him on the chest before passing a knowing smile to Kat.
Before Caleb can protest, Ben walks back in with the phone to his ear. “Evan can do next Friday, but we’re pushing it with the park dedication on that Saturday. I’m on with the church director now. The date is clear for the church. Should I confirm?”
“That’s eight days, doll,” Blake says to Kat, sounding more than a little unnerved.
Kat’s mouth curves into a devilish smile. “Book it.”
Chapter 32
Skyler
“How about green?”
“Like moss green or grass green?” Kat questions.
“Like sage green?” Reagan questions back as she holds a gown in the light of the shop window.
“How about any dress, since we have six days and we’ve been doing this dance for too long already?” Ax grumbles from the other side of the store. “I need a color so they can pick out ties. Help me, please, Kat. If you care about me at all, just pick a color.”
If she heard him, Kat is doing an excellent job of ignoring Ax’s pleas. “How about,” she muses, her hands digging into the rack, “graphite gray?” She extracts two gowns, holding them up for us to see. “This will look great on both of you.”
“Agreed,” Ax barks. “No takebacks. I’m going next door to tell them graphite gray. It’s been three fucking hours and no beer. This shopping trip is over.”
“Can you take them to the bar, Ax?” she calls after him.
“I’m already there,” he volleys back.
“Good.” She claps her hands together. “I want to try on my dress, and they need to be occupied.” Since finalizing the plans and getting the paperwork signed at the municipal office, Kat has literally scampered everywhere. I have never seen anyone so excited.
We scoured rental dress shops and bridal boutiques. Nick drove us to neighboring towns to look for everything we needed, including an off-the-rack wedding dress and a seamstress able to make minor alterations in record time.
Kat’s gown is made for her body. Ivory lace hugs every curve of her frame before kissing her hips and falling gently to the floor. It is classic and sophisticated, with the exception of the neckline that plummets to her navel. The dress is Kat in every way, chic and unapologetically daring.
“Kitten, you look amazing.” Reagan’s eyes gloss over with unshed tears.
“I feel amazing.” Kat waves her hand, fanning away her own tears as she looks at herself in the mirror. “I’m wearing this at the destination wedding too. It’s too perfect to only wear once.”
From my seat in the boutique, I watch Reagan preen and primp her best friend. Reagan fusses with Kat’s hair as they discuss how to best accentuate the neckline. Their affection is so natural it makes me wish for my cousin for the briefest of moments, before realizing that she would never play with my hair. She did nothing but snap that my red hair was unnatural and brash. It wasn’t ladylike. I secretly think she was jealous that I never lost my hair. It thinned but never completely fell out. When I asked the doctor about it, he simply shrugged. Not all people experience the same symptoms.
Some women don’t lose their hair, or their loves, or their lives.
Some do.
The morose worry that consumed many days filters into my mind. If I die, what will I leave behind? Who will have known me? What will Nick remember of me? On my last day, will I be alone?
“Skyler?” Reagan’s voice is calm, motherly.
My throat clenches around the emotion. I try to swallow it down, and tears dribble from my eyes.
“Not happy tears,” Kat calls as she runs for a box of tissues.
Her antics—the fact that the two of them are now bookending me—has me laughing through my random emotional breakdown.
“Are you that upset about graphite gray?” Kat asks. “I’ll change it. I don’t care what Ax says.”
“No.” I breathe out, trying to calm the racing of my heart. “I was just watching the two of you, and it made me realize how great girlfriends are.” I sniff, trying to compose myself. “Your friendship is beautiful.”
“We’ve known each other for a long time,” Reagan offers. “Now we get to add you into this wacky mix.”
When I was gone, I missed Caleb. When I started to get weekly calls from Reagan in a
ddition to the calls from Caleb, it was a blessing. Amanda was so hardened from her experiences, so fixed in her mindset, that it was difficult to stay positive. Talking with Reagan was a rainbow in an otherwise cloudy existence. But Kat is a different story.
“I know you are planning your wedding, but I have to apologize to you.”
Kat glances at Reagan before returning to me. “Why?”
“I didn’t know he was with you when I contacted him. He didn’t tell me, but I didn’t ask. Had I known—”
She sighs, her hand coming up to stop me. “Skyler, the whole thing was fucked up. Blake and I talked about it. He thought I was there with Ax. Nick punched him enough for me. It’s over.”
“But . . .” Her easy acceptance is unnerving. Part of me feels like she needs to be mad at me.
“Skyler, we figured it out. Blake and I talked. I’m sure you and Nick have talked about it too. We made things right with our partners. It wasn’t pretty, but on some level, it was what needed to happen. Seeing you with Blake triggered something in me I didn’t know existed. I’m sure you can say the same thing about Nick. Everyone is where they are supposed to be. That’s all that matters.”
Her ability to absolve my guilt is unnerving. “Thank you, but I still feel like you need to be mad at me.”
“Here, you want something?” Kat leans back, hands on her hips. “I’m marrying him. He chose me, Skyler. Blake is mine.” She inhales, softening ever so slightly. “You’re mine now too. I know what it’s like to hurt for the person you love. Sometimes you don’t make the best choices when you feel like you don’t have any other options. I saw your face in that room, Skyler. I know where your heart is.”
Her words are overwhelming. The woman who covered me, shielded my naked body from Nick in those tense moments, has forgiven my complete disregard of her relationship with Blake.
“Accept it, Skyler.” Reagan smiles, her arm coming around to hug me. “You now have Kat in your corner.”
