by Nicole Snow
It's not hard to hear him struggling to get up in those heels clenched to his feet like vises. We just keep going, get in the truck, and leave beneath the moonlight.
We're heading back to the police station, where Kara's probably still sleeping. Matt left her there in the waiting room to get me in the back, after the sheriff made his choice. She's blissfully unaware I was being released to give her ex the kick in the balls he deserves.
I don't give him a second thought. Only thing that matters is having her in my arms tonight, back in my bed, a smile on her face because she knows, beyond all doubt, that everything is finally going to be okay.
“Ryan? Don't tell me – I'm dreaming?” She rubs her eyes before she'll believe it's me.
I could wait, let it sink in.
No, screw it. I haul her up off the seat, sweeping her into my arms.
There's nothing worth saying that these kisses can't for the next five minutes. Matt stands behind us, a smile on his face. I'm grinning like a damned fool the whole way through it, my lips conquering hers, knowing the universe is righting itself, one little piece at a time.
“They had you locked up,” she says when I let her catch her breath. “I don't understand. How?”
“An old friend helped me out,” I tell her, motioning to the gentle giant as he walks over. “Sheriff Dixon deserves some credit for doing the right thing, too.”
“We've got to get busy protecting ourselves,” she says, slipping out of my arms, grabbing her purse on the chair. “You know they'll come after us. The Draytons are in a fight for their lives, and they know who's responsible for what's coming.”
“Babe, wait.” I grab her by the wrist. Bringing her hand to my face, I lay my lips on it, planting a reassuring kiss. “Reg is done. Matt and I made sure he's not interfering with anything again.”
She gives us a desperate look, one after the other. “God. Tell me you didn't...you know.”
There's nobody around, but she's smart enough to lower her voice, realizing we're still standing in a police station.
“He'll live, and he won't press charges,” Matt says, throwing a brotherly arm around her shoulder. “All you need to know, sis. I'm not wasting another minute on his corrupt ass. Let's go home.”
“We'll talk to the FBI in the morning, I'm sure. Is it too late to open up Grounded?”
She blinks, not understanding where I'm going. “I'm the manager. It's never too late...why?”
“Because the bars in this town close too early on a Sunday to let me buy my friend a proper drink,” I look at Matt and he smiles. “Coffee will have to do for now, plus a few slices of that awesome cherry pie. I want you to bring your mom and the kid, if he's around. I can't wait anymore. We're sitting down like a family and smoothing things over tonight. As the man you're going to marry, I won't let anything come between us and our wedding.”
“Shit.” Matt pauses, then slaps me on the back so hard my knees lock. “I'd say you're moving too fast, but you were always the one for her, Ryan. We've waited five years too long to make it happen.”
We're both smiling, but it's nothing compared to the angelic grin on her face. My eyes eat her up a little bit at a time. As heartwarming as this is, and as pleased as I am to see her happy, I can't stop the lewd thoughts pulling at me from the inside out.
“Call your mom, guys. I want to sit down tonight. All of us.”
I want to take care of the last thing between me laying down the woman I love for a few hard hours in the sheets.
They both reach for their phones. I stand against the wall, ready to put one big happy family back together after an eternity apart. I'm ready for the nice.
The naughty's coming straight after.
There's nothing like the hours I spent in prison, thinking I'd never have her lips or her legs around me again, to make my dick stand on end.
This night isn't over until we find a bed, even if it blurs into morning. I'm going to be inside her, celebrating our love, our promises, our future.
“Amazing to see you again, Mrs. Lilydale.” I take her hands as soon as she steps through the door.
Her eyes light up like I've returned from the dead. I'm not sure who's got the tighter grip.
“Ryan!” she throws her arms around me. “I'm sorry, son. I did you wrong.”
“You kept a promise,” I whisper, as soon as she pulls away to face me, tears brimming in her eyes. “I kept mine. The Drayton's won't be bothering us anymore, and I'm going to marry your daughter. Only thing I've ever wanted.”
I release her. Kara comes over and helps her shaken mom to the table, where there's a fresh cherry pie and a giant steel thermos of coffee. I take a seat next to her, reaching for her hand underneath the table.
We talk past sunrise. There's a lot of catching up to do.
I hear all about Matt's exploits in Afghanistan, how hard the Lilydales fought to hang on since Bart died, how bad a blow it was when the divorce hit, and how Matt's ex still keeps the kid most weekends out of spite.
That last one makes me take a slow, smooth sip of coffee that burns my throat. When we've wrapped up loose ends, I'm going to get him the best lawyer in the state to wring more time with his son from the cheating bitch.
By dawn, Kara starts to doze. She's cuddled up next to me, a smile on her face, when Matt stands up, rubbing his eyes. “Time to get some sleep. It's my last week on leave before I'm on active duty again.”
“You earned it, man. Couldn't have done any of this without you.” I put out my fist. He bumps his on mine.
Just like old times. I came here for Kara, but I've gotten my best friend back too. “Whenever you're ready to retire from the service, call me. I'll do whatever it takes to help you set up something new. If it's in the cards for Bart's Auto coming back, deal me in.”
“Nah, Ryan. I can't take your money, even if I think you're fit to join the family.”
“Then let me help apply for a loan, or get you a deal on a place,” I say. “Don't answer me now. Just think about it. When the time comes, you'll tell me. Worry about the big picture, and I'll do the details.”
He nods respectfully, a small, understanding smile on his face. That's the last I thing I see before he turns his back and marches out the door. Mrs. Lilydale sits across the table smiling, sipping her coffee. She's tired, but the reunion keeps her awake, one we all thought we'd never see.
I look at my girl carefully, making sure she's asleep on my shoulder, before I lean in and ask the question I've been dying to pop since she stepped through the door. “There's something I need. Do you know what happened to Kara's old ring – the first one I gave her when we got engaged all those years ago?”
Smiling, she nods. “Locked away in my drawer. Your locket's there too. She couldn't stand the sight of them after she thought you weren't coming home. I kept them safe...just in case.”
I reach for my wallet, pulling out a business card that has my personal address for the new office in town. “Please, when you get a chance, I'd love it mailed here. I've already got her a fancy new ring, but it isn't enough. I want her to have the ring I always meant her to wear, too. As far as I'm concerned, the last five years apart didn't happen. I'm using everything I can to remind her we were always meant to be, Mrs. Lilydale.”
“It's time you started calling me Bets if you're going to be my son-in-law.” The warm smile pulling at her lips brightens her face, smoothing away the sadness accumulated in her wrinkles. “You'll have it by tomorrow, Ryan. Bart would've been so happy to see how wrong he was, you know.”
I think about him when she grabs my hand. It's like I can feel the old man's ghost, big and approving, standing over all of us as he watches the impossible happen.
“I know, Bets. Hell, I'm honoring his memory by making this girl the happiest woman in the world, every single day we've got left on this earth.” I lean down and kiss Kara's forehead.
It wakes her softly. Perfect timing because it's past six o'clock now, and the morning crew is co
ming in through the back of the cafe.
Soon, we're saying goodbye to her mom, and heading for my car. I'll have to keep looking over my shoulder in case Reg is stupid enough to ignore his final warning, but it's not slowing me down.
I'll have the girl in my arms claimed, wed, and worshipped by the time the winter thaws.
For the first time in my life, the wealth and success finally means something. The millions upon millions in my accounts are more than just bare numbers on a screen. I'm going to spend every damned dime giving her the moon, and then doing the same for her folks.
Good looks and money always bring power. It's worthless if it doesn't make her skin hot and happy to the touch every second her hand's in mine. Driving to our hotel, I try to comprehend how fucking lucky I am, having a second chance with the most beautiful bride in the world.
No matter how many times I roll it over in my mind, I still can't get it. But I'm damned sure not going to forget.
Ever.
Seven Months Later
Church bells ring all the way down the coast. Several barges down the Superior shore blow their horns. A hundred thousand people in half a dozen towns know the hour has arrived.
Nobody except our gaggle of guests hears the most explosive, heartfelt rendition of Here Comes the Bride. That's for us, our friends, and our family, but it seems like the entire universe knows what's happening, down to the fire in our hearts.
Mine becomes an inferno the second I see her heading down the makeshift path strewn with flowers. That creamy, skin tight wedding dress clings to her like an angel's gown, making her a white shadow against the Armitage lighthouse's dark grey brick in the background.
I have to take my eyes off her, and face the priest, just to keep my dick from ripping through my trousers in front of half the town.
God, what a woman.
Hell, what a town.
What a wedding.
It's hard to believe the changes over the last six months. This décor, music, and atmosphere are more than anything I imagined. It's all coming together perfectly. Easy when you own the place where you're getting married.
The Draytons abandoned the historical fund and half the other charities in town as soon as they were busted. A hundred years of wealth and haughty reputations spiraled down the drain after the FBI proved Nelson's crimes. The Feds stripped away the assets he'd gotten from the sex trade, easily about ninety percent of their wealth, or so the papers said.
They even lost the lighthouse. It's mine now.
When it isn't open to the town, like today, I know it's the best wedding present I could've given us.
The music keeps going, and she's getting closer. I fix my eyes on hers, watching that beautiful veil ripple behind her golden hair. Behind her, there's Bets, little Holden bouncing on his grandma's lap. My mother-in-law reaches up and wipes a tear, just as Kara reaches the altar.
I step up, taking the last of the veil that's covering her face, drawing it back behind her head. When she sees me, blush fills her cheeks, and I have to fight twice as hard to control the raging erection in my pants.
It takes the song forever to end. Neither of us mind, content to relish the moment. I take both her hands in mine. Squeezing, rubbing, promising a thousand kinds of naughty and nice. She looks into my eyes and mouths one word.
“Soon.”
A jolt runs through my spine. Can't come fast enough, hauling her into bed, stripping off the delicate white layers covering her beautiful body like the icing on our cake.
I'm never going to let these hands go. They're going to be in mine while we're taking our vows. They'll be tangled in my fingers while we're walking to the limo, heading for the reception. Later, they'll be clenched like they're going to break when I have her, pinning her little hands above her head while I take her good and hard.
Fuck later. I want it now.
Luckily, I want to make us official even more. We turn to the priest as the music dies down, and he smiles, the same warm glow on his face we've seen during the rehearsals.
“Dearly beloved,” he begins. “We're gathered here today to unite two hearts once lost in holy matrimony, Ryan Caspian, and Kara Lilydale.”
My eyes flit to the side. Matt stands there in military dress, my best man and best friend. He gives me a subtle smile and flashes a thumbs up.
I know the boys and girls from the office are cheering me, too. Leonard, Becky, and so many more who got rich on the way up, making Punch Corp a world leader in new technologies.
They helped me achieve that dream. It's been a stepping stone to this one, but now I have to do the rest alone. Wouldn't have it any other way.
“Ryan,” the priest says, turning to me. “Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife...”
For better and for worse.
In sickness and in health.
To have and to hold.
Till death do you part?
Each phrase hits like lightning. The full, outrageous enormity of what I'm about to do stabs through my ribs, so sudden I have to lift her hand to my lips, and plant a kiss on her precious skin.
I love this woman. I'll never doubt it.
Through hell, through heaven, through five years of loss, through six glorious months back together, and all the years we had as kids. I'll love her to the end of time. I know it more than I've known anything in my life.
I can't keep them waiting. My hands lock tight on hers, pulling her closer, and for just a second, I'm lost in her jade green eyes.
“Obviously, it's a 'yes.' Kara, I love who you were, who you are, and who you're bound to become. Love that you're going to be by my side the entire time, having my kids, and being the best girl any man stuck on this rock could ever wish for. Didn't think it was possible to love you more, Kara-bou, but I do today. I love that you're mine forever, and you're going to remember it every time you're flashing those rings.”
That's right. Rings. Plural.
She's wearing both wedding rings. Our past, present, and future are reconciled on her hand.
Her face twitches. I reach up and gently clasp her chin, wiping away the tears that come down. We're lucky the priest speaks slow, prepping for her part, because she's in no condition to say anything for the next sixty seconds.
“Do you, Kara, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband...”
To love and to cherish.
To worship and adore.
Today and all your days.
The crowd coos softly when I pull her into my arms. It's all I can do to steady her as she's shaking, overwhelmed with the same wave that hit me a minute ago.
Five years of pain go up in flames. We did it.
Against the odds, against the assholes, against the world, we won. There's no love like the one worth fighting for. Today brings us so much closer to winning the battle for good.
I give her a look, rubbing my thumb softly along her cheek. Don't rush. Whenever you're ready.
Her eyes open. She looks at the priest, before turning her eyes my way again. Next to me, Matt sniffs. I think the big marine is holding in his own emotional storm.
“Love you, Ryan, and I'm proud to be your wife. I never thought I'd be standing here today, marrying the one, the right one, the only one who's ever believed in me and didn't give up. So many things tried to get in the way, tried to take you away from me, but they didn't. I believe it's fate, and there's nothing like it to make me believe you're the only man I'll ever call my husband. Too many people have loved and lost. We won, and it's a once-in-a-lifetime win for our hearts.”
There's my girl. I'm smiling at her eloquence, the sweetness in her voice. Mostly, I'm actually able to control the need to haul her into bed right now because those eyes on mine are about more than just sex.
So much more. I clasp her hands, waiting for the priest to say the final words.
He speaks legalities. Then what everybody gathered has been waiting for.
“Please, kiss the bride.”
Like he even has to ask. Like I wouldn't turn the world over on its ass just to get her, pull her into my arms, and push my lips down on hers.
Everything explodes the instant we kiss. She's swept up in my embrace amid the cheers, the laughter, the tears. She's crying, letting loose everything she's held inside while we kiss, but it doesn't interfere with her tongue.
It's hot on mine. Desperate. Wanting.
I take her mouth, letting my hands roam across her body. Tonight, as soon as the big day's finished, I'm going to fuck my wife like she's never had it before. And if she's going to give me the wedding gift I think she is, I'm going to be sore for the next week.
We're trying to eat our cake, stopping every minute for about a hundred people clinking their glasses, wanting us to kiss for them yet again. We indulge them, but it's really for ourselves. They can't see my hand on her thigh, clenching through the thin white fabric, ready to shred her pretty gown the second we're alone.
Smiling, I pick up my fork, and feed another bite into her mouth. Can't take my eyes off those lips. They're pink and perfect and ready to be wrapped around my cock.
Streams of people come by to give us their well wishes. We hear the chatter all around us, too, the latest town gossip.
Turns out Drayton Financial botched a couple hundred annuities for the town's wealthiest citizens. They've been slammed with so many lawsuits they'll probably never recover, and that's nothing compared to the restitution fund the FBI set up to claw back money made off Nelson's victims.
Nobody's seen Reg since the night we left him in the woods. I had a private investigator trail him a couple months ago. The man tracked him to Chicago, where he's wasting the last of his family fortune on high end escorts and thousand dollar heels, drinking himself into a sorry stupor most nights.
