“I’ll let you finish up.” He gave me a tender kiss on the lips. “I’ll see you soon.”
He shut the bathroom door with a quiet click, and I stared at myself in the now foggy mirror. The dress made me glow, despite the burnt coffee color of my dye job, and the dark circles that seemed to have plagued me the last few weeks. I swiped on a little bit of tinted lip balm that I kept in my bag with a toothbrush, and ran my fingers through my hair. I found some underwear on the stool beside the vanity, and slipped them on. I was fairly sure that the skirt of this dress was at least a little bit see-through.
Someone knocked, and then Rouen was poking his head back around the door. He sucked in a breath.
“Beautiful. Are you done in here?” I nodded, and he opened the door all the way, grabbing my hand and leading me into the kitchen, where a beautiful wreath of flowers lay on the island bench. Wildflowers in blue, white and yellow were threaded into a crown, twined together with string. It was breathtaking. Rouen lifted it and placed it on my choppy short hair. “Every Queen needs a crown.”
Another quick kiss, and he was gone. Romanus appeared from nowhere, wearing a white shirt tucked into his dark jeans, a couple of buttons open at his throat. He looked so handsome, my heart stuttered.
He looked as if someone had sucker punched him. “Wow.”
My smile was so huge, my cheeks were beginning to ache. “You look very handsome, Alpha. What have you done?”
“Nothing less than you deserve, my Queen.” He took my hand and kissed my knuckles. Then he tucked it into his elbow and led me out the front doors of the cabin.
What I saw made me suck in a breath and blink back tears furiously. They’d somehow converted the back yard into a wedding. There were only two guests who weren’t my guys, and seeing them made the tears spill over.
Hope stood there, dressed in a beautiful dark green tea dress, her deep red hair being lifted by the soft wind. She looked ethereal. She walked toward us, her eyes already overflowing and tears streaming down her cheeks. She was such a softie.
She wrapped her arms around me and pulled me close. A tumult of emotions flowed down our bond, but it was overwhelmingly love.
“You look like a bride, Rella,” she whispered.
“I feel like a bride, Sis,” I choked back. I fanned my face trying to get my shit under control.
Hope looked up at Romanus and gave him her famous wide smile. “Off you go, Loverboy. Go take your place, I’ve got it from here.”
Romanus ran his knuckles down my cheek and walked over to where my guys stood in a line, each dressed in a crisp white shirt and dark black jeans, except Charlie. Charlie looked so handsome, his light blue shirt matching his eyes. He gave me a look of such overwhelming happiness, I swore my heart would burst.
Standing off to the side of them was Memphis. He was dressed in a black button up shirt and black pants.
“Memphis is going to officiate. I mean, it won’t be official, and it's probably a little unorthodox to have a Fallen Angel commit a wedding ceremony, but hey, I figure at least he’s met the Big Guy, right?”
I couldn’t help my bark of laughter, that kind of came out like a snort. Our celebrant was going to be Mephistopheles, literally a Prince of Hell. It made a perfect kind of sense.
“Are you ready?” Hope asked, and I could feel her rummaging around in my emotions. I didn’t stop her. She wouldn’t find anything but an unending pool of happiness right now.
I walked toward the guys, who were standing under a tall tree, a large swath of the same fabric as my dress creating an impromptu arbor.
Charlie stood there, waiting for me, his eyes shining with love. My heart thumped so hard I was convinced it was going to beat right out of my chest.
When I was standing beside Charlie in front of Memphis, I sucked in a deep breath. I looked at each one of my guys, so different but so right for me. Hope kissed my cheek, letting go of my hand so I could place it in Charlie's warm, soft one. Like this was a real wedding. I was really getting married right now.
Memphis cleared his throat. “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today…” Hope scowled, and a small, secret smile twitched his lips. Or maybe I imagined it. “Estrella and Charles, I didn’t have much time to prepare for this, as I was informed of this event less than an hour ago, when it was rather violently demanded of me.” He shot a look at Hope, whose face was fierce beneath her tears. Was Memphis teasing her? Dark, brooding, never cracked a smile in his life, Memphis? It was a day for surprises alright.
He cleared his throat again. “So I can only give you my advice. Sure, love is patient, and love is kind. This much is true. But love is also messy, and volatile. Love is anger and tears, passion and all emotions that are wild and human. It is also the greatest force in this universe. Love is enough to redeem a man, heal a woman, and save a damned soul. If you hold love in your heart, then you will weather any storm, overcome any foe, and know untold happiness. This is the true Heaven.”
Hope started to cry softly, and I smiled. Charlie held my hand and lifted it, sliding a thin wedding band onto my finger, and I let out a soft sound. It was perfect. Five strands of white gold twisted together in an endless circle. Five lives entwined. A tear trickled down my cheek.
“Rouen made it last night. It just feels right, doesn’t it?” he murmured, and I could only nod. “This is pretty perfect. Just you and me, and the pack. Initially, I didn’t react too well to the idea of sharing you,” he said louder.
Someone let out a strangled cough, and I gave Rouen a mock stern look. Charlie just grinned. “But any doubts I might have had were erased when these three guys helped me set this up for you. They wanted it to be perfect, not just for you, but for us both. And I respect the hell out of them for that. I didn’t think anyone would love you as much as I do, but I’m happy to say I was wrong. Because I love you with every fiber of my soul, Estrella Jones, and I feel that love mirrored in them. I could never deny you all the love that you deserve. I’ll spend eternity loving you, and I know for certain that they will too. Will you do me the honor of being my wife, until death do us part?”
“Even after that,” I murmured, and Hope leaned toward me, handing me a ring. It wasn’t until then that I noticed all the guys wearing one. Even Nazir, which shocked the hell out of me.
I slid the cool weight of the ring onto Charlie's finger. “You have my heart, Charlie Mulligan. Even when I didn’t know, when I thought I was happy, you held a piece of my soul with yours. I’d be honored to be your wife.”
He leaned forward and kissed me then. Memphis huffed. “You are ruining my moment here, guys. By the power vested in me by the Ruler of Hell, and I can’t imagine God having any problem with this union either, I pronounce you man and wife. Now you can kiss the bride. Again.”
Charlie kissed me with such tenderness, I was convinced I was going to cry again. The guys, and Hope, whooped and cheered, and I smiled against his lips. This was perfect.
Hope, in all her wisdom, had brought an entire case of champagne, and a whole spread of pastries from my favorite Manhattan bakery. I wasn't sure how Memphis managed to sift it all, as well as Hope, here at once.
The guys were messing around in the clearing, and I was sitting on the porch with Hope, sipping champagne from glasses we found in the cabin. The guys had forgone the glasses and drank straight from the bottle. So classy. Romanus and Rouen had unbuttoned their shirts, of course, and Rouen was lying on the grass soaking up the sun. Charlie, the only one with the alcohol tolerance of a human, was starting to sway, and Naz was trying to teach him marksmanship by throwing rocks at empty champagne bottles. Actually, Naz was looking a little worse for wear too. Memphis and Romanus were having a serious discussion, about gods only knew what. It was perfectly idyllic, and I never wanted the moment to end.
“You're really lucky, you know that? Any one of them would have been perfect for you, but together you are so much more,” Hope said softly from beside me.
I gave her the
side eye. “What’s going on with you?”
She waved a hand. “Nothing. I’ve got everything under control. This is your day.”
“Well, what's going on with you and the bad boy of Hell then?” I nodded toward Memphis. Color flooded into Hope’s cheeks, mottling her an adorable shade of red. She slammed down our connection, and I grinned. Interesting.
“Don’t ask.” She looked at the delicate filigree watch on her wrist. “We should go. I sense you have other things to do tonight.” She wiggled her eyebrows, but little did she know. Tonight, I’d complete our pack. My skin buzzed with the need to make Charlie completely mine. Heat ran through me, and Hope cleared her throat.
“Yep, definitely time to go. Memphis?” she called, and the Fallen Angel in question turned at the sound of her voice. “We should leave these love birds to it. Ready to head home?”
He nodded and was in front of her in the blink of an eye. He wrapped her in his arms, tenderness shining in his eyes for an unguarded moment. But I saw. I wonder if she did too?
Chapter Twenty-One
They disappeared with a pop, like the fabric of reality was snapping back into place. I walked down the steps and sat down beside Rouen.
“You guys have gotten my new husband drunk.”
Rouen laughed. “You mean our new husband, right? He’ll be fine, my Queen. He’s just happy. Give him a few hours and then we can complete our pack.” I laid my head against his chest. Naz and Romanus came to sit beside us, their bodies casually touching mine. Naz’s put his hand on my thigh, and Romanus placed my feet on his lap.
I considered never leaving this place. We could be happy here, the four of us.
Charlie walked over, standing above me, his body silhouetted by the sun.
“Want to dance, Mrs Mulligan?” I laughed at the absurdity of me being a Mrs anything. I stood, brushing the grass from my butt, and he grabbed my hips, and pulled me up against his chest.
He started to hum, two stepping us in a circle around the lawn.
“Are you seriously humming Whitney Houston right now?”
Charlie just hummed louder, and Rouen started singing along. Rouen was fantastic at a lot of things, rending heads, and well, giving head came straight to mind, and I loved him so much, but he did not sing like an angel. He sung like a screaming goat video. It made me laugh harder, Charlie holding me up as we both broke down into hysterics. Romanus groaned and thumped Rouen's shoulder.
“Stop. That’s fucking torturous.”
Rouen just grinned and laid down across Romanus’ lap.
“It’s true, though. I will always love you,” Charlie whispered against my cheek.
I tilted up my face for a kiss, which he happily provided. Then he deepened the kiss, and heat unfurled in my belly, lust mingling with happiness.
“Rella?”
“Mmm?” I murmured against his lips.
“I’d like to make love to my wife now.”
Someone whooped from the peanut gallery on the lawn, and I grinned.
“I’d like that husband.” I could hear Naz muttering that it was about time to the gargoyles, but I blocked them out.
Right now, it was just me and Charlie. The man in question scooped me up into his arms, probably flashing my panties to everyone else, and carried me up the stairs and inside the house.
We stumbled our way through the living room to the bedroom, and he threw me on the bed. I bounced a little on the soft mattress, and made a pathetic squeaking laugh.
“Charlie!”
Charlie was on me in an instant, lying between my knees, and kissing me deeply.
“I can’t wait, Rella. I want you now. Hell, I wanted you five years ago. You were the star of every wet dream I had all through high school.”
“But no pressure, right?” I teased.
“Are you kidding? It’s make or break time, baby,” he laughed, rolling us over so I was on top. “You look so damn amazing in that dress. I’m going to make love to you while you look like a fucking dream come true.”
I leaned forward and kissed him. “You just don’t want to wait until we undo all the buttons, do you?”
He grinned his panty dropping grin. “Exactly.”
He tore the delicate lace of my panties away, and I gasped. I didn’t think people tore off underwear anymore, but I stood corrected. He slid his hand along my slick heat, and moaned.
“I’m not going to lie. This is going to be hard and embarrassingly fast, but we have all night,” he promised. I didn’t care as I tore at his shirt, ripping it open and scattering buttons everywhere, to reveal the smooth, hard muscles of his chest. The light ginger curls of his chest hair were rough under my palms, and I loved it.
I unbuttoned his jeans, peeling them down his legs with more desperation than finesse. As soon as he kicked them off his feet, his hands were back on my hips. He lifted me up, and I gripped his cock, guiding him into me, then getting my hand the hell out of the way as he slammed me down.
“Yes,” he hissed, and I agreed on a moan as we began to move together, each grind hitting my clit as well as my g-spot. Charlie had had some practice, this I knew, but wow. I threw my head back and rode him, reveling in the sensations that were running through my body and down to my nerve endings. Charlie’s eyes never left my face as he pressed up into me, adjusting the roll of his hips to my moans of pleasure. I reached down, rubbing my clit with my finger, and Charlie let out a strangled noise.
“Oh damn,” he panted, thrusting wilder, urging me to quicken my pace. I pistoned my hips quicker, throwing my head back as the pleasure pushed me higher and higher. It was hard, and wild and fast, tinged with a feeling of desperation and I loved it.
My orgasm washed over me and I clenched my inner muscles around Charlie’s dick. He let out a long groan as he jerked inside me, filling me with his seed.
“I love you, Rella, so damn much.”
I collapsed forward onto his chest, panting, my hair stuck to my face and our bodies still connected on the most intimate level. “I love you too, Charlie Mulligan. Now get me out of this dress,” I demanded.
He laughed, kissing me like he owned me. Or I owned him. “My pleasure.”
Featherlight kisses brushing across my cheeks woke me. I opened one eyelid lazily, expecting to see Charlie, but it was Naz’s chocolate brown and mercury eyes I saw.
“Hey,” I croaked out through a parched throat. “Where’s Charlie?”
“He decided that you were a Bridezilla, and hotfooted it out of here.” His face was smooth, completely neutral, and if it wasn’t for the sparkle of mischief in his eye, I might have freaked out.
“Not funny, asshole.”
He chased kisses down my temple and across to my lips.
“We are waiting for you,” he whispered against them. “Again.” He was openly teasing me now. I stuck my tongue out at him. It wasn’t my fault they kept coming up with surprise events that were special and magical just for me.
I stood up and looked for my dress, or my jeans, or something.
“Don’t worry about clothes, you won’t need them.” Naz hooked an arm around my waist and pulled me against his bare chest. He was wearing his jeans still, which hugged his delectable ass like a second skin. “Have you changed your mind? About changing Charlie?”
I shook my head violently. I wanted Charlie to be pack more than anything now, and no matter how much I enjoyed my moment with Charlie and his beautiful, fragile humanity, I needed him to be with me for eternity.
“I haven’t. Am I doing the right thing, Naz? It feels right, but I don’t know if I’m doing what's best for me or for Charlie.”
He stood in front of me and ran his hands up and down my arms. “Trust your gut. And if it goes bad, we will deal with. Clary always said don’t borrow tomorrow’s trouble for today. Or maybe it’s don’t steal yesterday’s trouble for today. Whatever. Just do what feels right.”
I nodded. “You’re right. Let’s do this.”
Naz let me
go, and I grabbed his hand, walking out of the room naked. After all, every person in this house had seen me naked and in the throes of orgasm now. No point in being modest.
Once again, the house was empty, and Naz ushered me through the living room to the front door. The night was beautiful and still, an idyllic French summer evening. I could hear the night noises of the nocturnal animals, and as the door squeaked open, it covered my oomph of surprise. The guys had lit up the night. Fairy lights now hung where the chiffon archway had been earlier, and dozens of candles littered the ground in tiny circles, casting an eerie light around the clearing. A small brazier crackled off to one side, and that’s where I saw them. My partners.
I walked toward them like my limbs were possessed, irrevocably drawn to them like a compass north. They were all dressed, or perhaps undressed, similar to Naz, bare chested in just jeans. The firelight glistened off the gargoyles as if they were dusted in real gold, or oiled. They seemed huge silhouetted against the flames. Charlie stood with them, laughing at something one of the other guys said. My heart wanted to explode as the breath burned in my lungs. I wanted to close my eyes and burn this moment into my mind forever. Romanus spotted me first and beckoned me over. The raw lust on his face made me feel powerful, like a goddess more than a queen.
I joined them and they huddled around me.
Rouen ran a hand up my spine, and I shivered. They all eyed me expectantly, but I focused on Charlie.
“Are you sure this is what you want, Charlie?”
He laughed, leaning forward to kiss me. “For the thousandth time, yes. I want to be pack. I want to irrevocably be one of you.” He brushed his fingers over my cheek, and I had hot flashback to what those clever fingers did earlier. Lust began to glow inside me, and the three men already bonded to me stiffened.
We needed to get this shit done fast, and get to the fun part.
I turned to Romanus, leaning into his wide, muscular chest.
Hell's Redemption- The Complete Series Boxset Page 53
