A dark cloud descended over my heart at the thought of Larry’s sacrifice, but I willed it away. I had to live in the moment right now, to savor every detail. Wallace and I would still have to get our marriage license tomorrow to make things legit, but for all intents and purposes, in the eyes of God, we would be husband and wife within a matter of minutes. Minutes.
My heart raced.
Near the end of the runner, where the tunnels widened to accommodate doors and panels, everyone rose from their folding chairs. Vlad and Zvoni stood in the back, an awkward addition to our wedding party, but I was grateful for their support. Two less people trying to kill us. Two people ripe for recruitment to our side.
In front of them, Wanda stood with her grand-piggy in her arms. Someone had given him a bow tie. If I weren’t desperately trying to act like a grown-up, I probably would’ve cracked up at the sight.
Clara dabbed her eyes across the aisle. She stood alongside Henry and Jaya with Edwin seated in front of them. I waved my fingers that were white-knuckling the bouquet.
Finally, I allowed myself to look at the gorgeous man waiting for me in front of a draped fabric backdrop. In the dim lighting, his cerulean eyes were aglow with unreadable emotion. Whoever they’d had to threaten to get last minute tuxes had done a great job of tailoring it to fit his sculpted form. A great job…
His mouth twitched.
My insides revved.
Cole stood off to his left, dapper as anyone would’ve guessed. He pulled off the James Bond look well and he knew it. Unfortunately, that confidence didn’t translate to his fellow groomsman.
Aiden remained a placid, almost regretful statue beside him.
Gabby and a seated Rachel waited on my side, both beaming despite the circumstances. I didn’t know what I’d done to deserve their unwavering support, but I appreciated it more than they could ever possibly imagine.
Pastor Mark cleared his throat, and I jumped. The music had stopped, and I was still three feet from the designated altar. “Sorry!”
A few snickers sounded at my back. Of course.
He held back his own laughter and opened his book. “Dearly beloved…”
The whole thing felt off—my father hadn’t walked me down the aisle; I didn’t even have a veil—but I couldn’t say it felt wrong. There’d be time for those things tomorrow. Tonight was intimate, about us.
As Mark went through his speech, Wallace took my hands in his. They felt rough, rougher than they used to be, but his Faye-inflicted wounds were all but healed. Stupid Dynari blood…
Mine were faint, but still entirely visible. One of the million things I’d have to explain tomorrow. Ugh.
“Into this union, Rena and Wallace now come to be joined,” Mark informed our little crowd. “If any of you can show just cause why these two cannot be lawfully wed, speak now, or forever hold your peace.”
“And if you do,” Cole added with a glare, “forever might not be so long.”
If the tunnels had crickets, they would’ve chirped to fill the silence.
“Okay.” Mark cleared his throat again. “Onward.”
I didn’t dare meet anyone else’s gaze. If I saw Clara wiping away tears or Gabby making suggestive gestures, I’d lose it—one way or the other.
He turned to me. “Rena, do you take this man to be your husband; to live together with him in the covenant of marriage? Will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, be faithful unto him as long as you both shall live?”
“I do.” Or was it I will?
Wallace squeezed my hands, and Mark turned to him.
“And do you, Wallace…” He repeated the interrogation, waiting for an answer I held my breath for.
My husband-to-be gave me one of those secret smiles—the kind that made me feel like we were the only ones in the universe. “I do.”
“Good call,” Mark commented, shifting to address the group again. “Will all of you witnessing these promises do all in your power to uphold these two persons in their marriage?”
Everyone but Cole answered, “I do.” He yelled, “Hell yeah!”
Mark grinned. “All right, then. Who gives this woman to be married to this man?”
The imaginary crickets were back.
“We all do!” Clara waved her hand like she’d just called out bingo.
“That’s, uh…” Beads of sweat formed at my neck. “That’s on tomorrow’s agenda.”
“Oh, right, right…” He flipped the page, unfettered. “Do you guys have a special song or anything you’d like to play?”
Wallace dropped one of my hands and felt around in his pocket. “Actually, yeah, hold on…”
No, no…no surprises. Not when I was wearing mascara.
He found his phone and tapped the screen until the opening notes of Five for Fighting’s “All I Know” cover echoed around the tunnel. We’d shared a late night laugh over the song’s lyrics a few months back, because the opening lines talked about figuratively bruising each other. Given our literal circumstances, we found it oddly appropriate for our song.
And he’d remembered.
A thousand memories washed over me as we stood there, about to become one in every sense of the word—meeting in the hallway, our first real conversation during the fire alarm, him taking care of me during the snowstorm. I came to find out the big, scary Madman wasn’t so terrifying, after all. Just hurt. Guarded. In him, I discovered the friendship I never knew I needed, the piece of myself I hadn’t realized I’d been missing.
As the weeks went by, he carved out a place in my life. In my heart. We did the most mundane things together—we had an unofficial laundry date, for crying out loud—but they made me so nervous. I worried what he thought of me, and then I worried why I cared so much. It was a constant uphill battle with my pride…until it hit me. I’d already fallen. Hard.
Sharing secrets, placing the other’s safety ahead of our own—we’d come to lean on each other without realizing it. Honestly, I think we were the last people to know. And then, he’d kissed me…
Damn it! I hoped Gabby had grabbed my waterproof mascara.
Wallace brushed the back of my hand with his thumb, fully on board for my emotional roller coaster. It brought to mind just how close we’d already come to losing each other—that night in the forest, Faye’s orchestration of our break-up, even the tornado on campus and Aiden’s subsequent malfunction. Those memories had been suppressed, buried by those I chose to hold onto. Like the night Wallace and I had spent in the back of his truck, or when he’d proposed to me with his father’s watch outside of the dance.
I wanted to close the gap between us with a yearning I couldn’t describe. How long was this ceremony going to last, anyway? With everyone staring…
The song swelled before quieting down again. Mark continued where he’d left off. “Beautiful. Now should we proceed to the vows?”
“Yes,” I answered without thinking.
Wallace chuckled under his breath.
Apparently, it’d been a rhetorical question.
“All right, Wallace,” Mark began, not bothering to hide his snicker this time. “Do you want to repeat after me or wing it?”
“I think I can manage.” Wallace grinned. “Though, I used my good speech for the proposal.”
“It’s true,” I added. “That was his best work.”
“So, no pressure?” he asked me, like we weren’t on display for everyone.
“Not until tomorrow.” I poked my tongue out. “Unless you want to meet Loretta again.”
Loretta, being my father’s favorite shotgun. According to my mom, he’d brandished it when Wallace asked for my hand—not knowing his future son-in-law could bend the thing in half without trying.
We let our hands drop in anticipation of the ring part, which was going to be interesting given the fact that we didn’t even have them yet. Mark looked around. “Okay, who has the rings?”
Cricket encore.<
br />
That was when Clara stood up and waved her hand. “I do!”
“All right, come on down!”
Our nuptials had just turned into The Price is Right.
She pressed something into Cole’s hand and beamed. “I hope you two don’t mind. I took the liberty of paying them off.”
Wallace scrunched his face up. “How did you…?”
“Don’t forget. Ol’ grandma can be very persuasive.”
Oh God. Clara had used her ability on the jewelers.
“Well, thank you. I mean, we’ll pay you back as soon as—”
“Shh!” she scolded him and scurried back to her seat. “Don’t talk during the ceremony.”
We blinked. Mark blinked. Even our wedding party blinked.
“Okay…”
“Go ahead, man,” Mark urged, lowering his note-filled bible. “You’re on.”
Again, no pressure.
“Rena, you’re stubborn,” Wallace began in quiet declaration, “and I know that’s not the most romantic way to start our vows, but it’s how our relationship began. Because you didn’t give up on me, because you pushed me to grow, you saved me—from myself and my past. You taught me how to love. You taught me what it feels like to belong. You, alone, have made me a better man.”
My lip quivered as emotion pulsated in my chest. I will not cry in front of all these people, I will not cry in front of all these people, I will not—
“Believe me when I say, as long as my heart is beating, you will never be alone. I’m going to spend the rest of my life guarding yours. You’re my partner, my love, and someone I’ll always trust to have my back. I promise to be everything you need through everything life throws at us.”
The tears escaped, burning fiery trails down my cheeks. His words had touched the fragile part of my heart, the part I’d managed to guard from everyone but him for so long. I squeezed his hands and turned away to sniffle. Jerk.
Mark nodded, Cole passed the ring off, and Wallace slipped it onto my finger. “With this ring, I thee wed.”
Silence.
Oh, shit. Was that my cue?
I cleared my throat and struggled to piece together the words that had been swimming through my mind all afternoon. “Wallace, I hate your face.”
Naturally, that statement earned me more looks of confusion than Clara’s outburst.
“I hate how a single look disarms me,” I went on. “How a simple smile makes my heart skip a beat. No one should be this handsome, and it’s really distracting when I’m trying to come up with vows. You’re lucky I’m willing to marry you and accept that burden.”
Everyone laughed. My face blazed.
“But seriously, you undo me. Ever since you crashed into my life, nothing has been the same—I haven’t been the same. Through you, my eyes have been opened to a world I never knew existed. Beside you, I’ve fought to protect everything it stands for. You’ve given me the strength and courage to do things I never thought possible.”
He gave me a lopsided smile, reveling in the moment as the Nexus surged around us.
“Tonight, I marry my best friend—the sweetest, most gentle man I have ever met. You are my once in a lifetime, and I promise to never take that for granted.”
Something flashed in my peripheral, and I caught it on reflex. Cole had thrown me the ring. Classy…
With trembling hands, I pushed the ring onto Wallace’s finger. “With this ring, I thee wed.”
Mark smiled and blessed the rings, placing our hands back together. He spoke of the sacred nature of marriage and his hopes for our future, our small crowd hanging on his every word. Finally, he took a deep breath and, in the name of the Father, pronounced us husband and wife. “Those whom God has joined together, let no one put asunder.”
“Or you just might meet Him sooner than you think,” Cole added, addressing our guests before sneaking a glance back at Aiden.
Mark shook his head. “Right. And with those final words, it is my pleasure to present to all of you Mr. and Mrs. Blake. Wallace, you may kiss the bride.”
My husband—whoa!—grinned and bent to cup my cheek before pressing his lips to mine. It was sweet, at first, until our Nexus-driven frustration possessed me to throw my arms around his neck. He dipped me back, and everyone cheered.
We were finally married.
The reception consisted of a fast food banquet, sponsored by Henry and Jaya. A little of everything lay spread across two folding tables, along with paper plates, plastic silverware, and napkins printed with wedding bells. For only having a few hours to pull everything together, I was pretty darn impressed.
Cole approached Wallace out of the corner of my eye, his plastic cup full of sparkling juice. “So, I have a little wedding night advice for you.”
Wallace stiffened at my back. “I’m thrilled.”
“Sure, you’ve seen Sis naked before…”
…the hell?
“How do you kno—”
“And sure, you might think it won’t be any different just because you’re about to get laid,” he went on, “but it will be. Think of it like seeing a gorgeous Ducati in a showroom. That’s an off-limits fantasy, bro. But once you finally save up and get it, it’s yours. You can ride it all day and all night. Ride it fast, ride it slo—”
Wallace made some kind of gesture with his arm. “I get it.”
“I’m just sayin’ you gotta prepare upstairs for company downstairs.” He clapped a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Don’t get too excited and shoot the confetti cannon prematurely.”
I gaped at Gabby who clamped a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing. She’d been eavesdropping, too.
God help us all.
“Cole,” Wallace started, but he didn’t continue into his usual tirade. Normally he’d tell him he needed help, or he’d offer some creative threat only brothers can get away with. But this time, he couldn’t finish. He still felt bad about Larry. “Uh, thanks…you weirdo.”
“That’s what I’m here for.”
I turned away to keep my cover, but from the back-clapping, it was safe to assume they’d shared some kind of manly hug. Good. They both needed it. I glanced at the clock.
Is it time to leave yet?
“It’s your party,” Clara said from my left. “Don’t feel obligated to stick around for our benefit. There’s plenty of food and conversation to keep everyone occupied.”
Holy guac. My suspicions about her mind-reading abilities were back.
She smiled. “Anxiousness.”
“Ah.”
“She’s right, Ree,” Gabby said, stuffing her face with chicken nuggets. “Go get it on. Nobody will think anything of it.”
Ugh, in front of his grandmother? Wrong. So wrong.
They both giggled.
I reached back for Wallace’s sleeve and gave it a tug. “Hey, are you ready to get out of here? Like…now?”
“You tell me, Wife.” The answer came with no hesitation. “I’ve been ready for half an hour.”
I grinned and took his hand again. He didn’t have to tell me twice.
CHAPTER 19
« WALLACE »
My heart pounded in my ears as Rena pulled me through the dim passageways of the steam tunnels, our shadows dancing over the pipes as we ran. This was it. The night we’d put war on hold for, our reprieve to finally enjoy each other as husband and wife. Sweat dampened the back of my neck, and I tugged at my tie.
Her soft laughter echoed off the concrete walls as she turned back to flash a smile, stumbling to a dizzying stop in front of our door. “Second thoughts, Mr. Blake?”
Hell no. But words failed me.
Rena’s hair had gotten disheveled in our hasty escape, blonde wisps teasing her shoulders where they’d fallen free of pinned-up curls. The little white dress that would’ve looked hot on my fiancée, now clung to the womanly curves of my wife. There was something about her body that had changed in my eyes—something worth reverence. More than I wanted to claim
her, I wanted to savor her, to memorize our every moment together.
Big green eyes stared up at me, concern building behind a well-practiced veneer. I realized then that I had yet to manage a response. “Never.”
Her lips twisted back as she turned the handle, not suspecting a thing. It wasn’t until the door swung wide to reveal our usually darkened room, now alight with hundreds of flickering candles, that the surprise registered. The romantic backdrop I’d spent most of my prep time on had floored her.
“Did you…?”
Instead of answering, I scooped her up, crossed the threshold in three long strides, and kicked the door shut behind us. “It was the best I could do underground, but—”
Rena grabbed the lapels of my jacket and kissed me full on, her small frame trembling as nerves from the wedding finally gave out. A thousand emotions poured between us, none of them discernible, yet every one heated me from the inside out.
She pulled back with tears in her eyes. “I love you so much.”
“I love you, too.”
My voice was rougher than I’d intended. The Nexus-driven warmth had plunged south, mounting eight months of pressure in my groin. As the candlelight washed over her face and flickered in her half-lidded gaze, I fought to restrain myself, lowering her to the floor.
Rena stepped out of her slippers and turned with a blush, holding her fallen curls to the side of her neck. “Can you help?”
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak as I fumbled for the tiny pearl at the top of her collar. It was the first of a dozen trailing down the curve of her back, looped by thread so thin it took every ounce of concentration I could muster not to tear it. My hands shook as I pushed the material back, revealing inch after inch of impossibly smooth skin.
Damn…
When I finally got to the bottom, she tugged the silken straps over her shoulders and let gravity guide the material to circle at her feet. As my gaze drifted upward, past the lace panties that hugged her backside, a lump formed in my throat.
She turned to me, uncertainty weighing in her eyes. “Thanks…”
“No problem.” I stared. It was probably rude of me, but I couldn’t help it. Her delicate body demanded all of my attention, and it didn’t let go.
Loyalty Page 17
