by T. L Smith
“Don’t be silly. It’s tradition for you not to see me the day of.”
He shakes his head, leaning in so his head is in my neck as he breathes me in. “No.”
I laugh and pull back and kiss his lips softly. “We are so up and down, Gunner. Is this the life you want?” I ask him, changing the subject while I have him in a good mood. I need to know. I honestly need the reassurance that what we’re doing is right. I need it like the air I breathe.
I’m drinking his style of whiskey too fast. And I may never be sober again.
His eyes search mine.
“You were a playboy before me. You plan to change forever?” I ask him.
“I haven’t been with another woman since you, Everly,” he states as if that’s the only answer I will ever need.
“And that will make you happy for the rest of your life, having only one woman?” I need the right answer from him. I have to know I’m enough.
His hand touches my hair. “I’m fixated on you. You are mine in every sense of the word. And this weekend you will legally be mine as well. Till death do us part.” His last words send shivers all through my body.
“As long as I’m enough for you.”
He nods his head. “You are. Now get your ass on the table, so I can have breakfast.” He pushes me up on the table then lays a hand on my chest, pushing me back. Opening my legs wide, I’m bare for him after showering and not changing. I need to go in to work today to make sure everything will run smoothly while I take some time off after the wedding.
Warmth touches me and I squirm on the table. His tongue slides up and down making circles on my clit until I reach for his head and hold his curls in between my fists.
He chuckles with each lick of his tongue then slides a finger in and pumps it inside me, and it’s not long until I come hard. With the mastery of his tongue and his skilled hands, I’m always at his mercy. Catching my breath, he pulls me up to a seated position and wipes his mouth as he looks at me.
“Now you can go,” he says sitting back.
I reach forward and kiss his lips and taste myself on him. When I pull back, he’s smiling so big. “My bunny is naughty.”
I wink at him as I slide off the table and saunter into the bedroom, and when I get to the door, I turn back to look at him and see him watching me.
“You are mine, Everly Thorne, till my last dying breath. You are mine.”
I blow him a kiss and get dressed trying to not let his words play on my mind.
“Do you think you’re fixated on the want he has for you? I’m sure it’s not healthy,” May says the next day as I pack my bag to go to her house. I get married tomorrow, and soon I will no longer be a fiancée, I will be a wife. Hopefully, I will not be like my mother—even with all the love I have for her, I don’t want to be a small voice surrounded by much larger ones.
“Probably not. But I don’t think there are many men like him left in this world. And if there are, not many women would put up with him.” I laugh.
“I know I wouldn’t. No matter how good-looking that man is.”
It makes me smile. “He is very good-looking,” I utter agreeing.
“Oh, he is, without a doubt.”
I smile as the door opens and Gunner walks in. He looks at May on our bed then to me.
“You’re going?” he asks, not acknowledging May who doesn’t like that one little bit and decides to insert herself, “Hello to you, too, Gunner. A nice day we had today. Oh yes, I know,” she says muttering to herself.
“Hello, May, yes lovely day we had. Now please step out of my room, so I can talk to Everly before you steal her away from her rightful place.”
She stands and salutes him. “Only because you said please. I bet that doesn’t happen often.” May turns back and winks at me before she steps out and shuts the door behind her.
“I asked you not to go,” he says shaking his head.
“I told you I was,” I reply smiling while packing the last of my stuff. “The next time you see me, I will be walking down the aisle toward you.”
He steps forward, wraps his arms around my waist, and breathes me in. “Then you will be all mine.”
I nod grabbing a curl that’s come free from his hair tie. Pulling on it, I watch it bounce back in place.
“I’m already yours. Why does it matter so much to you about the piece of paper?”
“My parents only cared for one thing, that I marry well. My grandmother reminded me of that every day. No other woman I have been with did I desire more than you. I knew you were it, and that you were meant to be mine. So, yes, the marriage means everything to me, probably more than your parents, whose beliefs would be the same as my family’s.”
“I was raised with the fairy tale that my husband would one day be chosen, and he would be best-suited for me above all others. It wasn’t until I was a little older that I was told about the contract and what it would mean for me.”
“You were meant for me, Everly, as I was meant for you.”
“I swear to God, you two, if I hear that bed rocking I’m coming in with ice-cold water.”
I chuckle kissing his lips then pulling back and grabbing my bag.
Gunner takes it from me. “I can’t wait to have all of you for eternity, Everly.”
I smile at his words. It’s moments like this, words like this, that he doesn’t often give which make my heart beat that little bit harder.
“You’ll see me. I’ll be the one walking down the aisle with my father by my side.”
“Yes, you will be.” He opens the door and May’s sitting at the table waiting for me. I smile at the exact spot she’s sitting at, remembering that’s where he had me for breakfast yesterday.
“Oh my fucking God, you had sex here didn’t you?” May jumps up pointing a finger at me, while trying to wipe something imaginary from her clothing. “You have that smug look on your face.”
I laugh at her. “Not quite, but close.” I wink back at her making her shiver.
“Okay, I need to get out of here, or you need to wash and disinfect every surface of this place, or tell me where it’s safe to sit.”
“Best we go then.”
She waves to Gunner while walking past and going to the front door. He kisses me one last time as we walk out and he places my bag in May’s car.
“Forever mine.”
My smile is so big that even when we pull away, and we can no longer see him, it’s still there.
“You’ve got it so bad, and so does he,” May says.
“I know, I’m a bit obsessed.”
“I can see it now, the way he looks at you. I can see why you two work. Even if it’s not right for me, I still get it.”
“Thanks. I went a bit crazy this week, I’ll fill you in more later, but I’m not sure Alec will be coming to the wedding. I hope so, but I don’t know. He doesn’t like Gunner. At all.”
“Alec is protective over you, he always has been.” I nod. “Are you excited, though? Soon you’ll be Mrs. Reid.” She chuckles. “Where are you going on your honeymoon?”
I shrug. “He told me he’s planning that part of it, so I’ve left him to it.”
“I bet it’s somewhere private, where it’s just the two of you. Exclusive.”
‘Maybe,” I add.
“For sure. He’s obsessed with you. He wants you all to himself. What better way than a honeymoon to have you. All the things he could do to you.” She wiggles her eyebrows as she pulls up at her house.
When we get out, there’s a lady standing at her door.
“Delivery for Mrs. Reid?” she says to both of us.
May laughs as I step forward. She hands me a box and smiles as she walks off.
“What’s in it?” she asks as she opens her door and we go inside.
I tear it open and find a very expensive bottle of champagne followed by the best Belgian chocolates and exotic ice cream.
“Oh boy, he is good.”
He is. He really is.
“You know I may not be Team Gunner, but I am team Ev, so no matter what you choose to do I have your back.” We’ve drunk too much and the sun is starting to rise. We both need sleep, soon. Especially if I intend to make it to my own wedding, sober. I reach my hand out on the bed and touch hers. We have been lying here planning on going to sleep for a good hour or two now, but then we started to talk and couldn’t seem to stop. Now here we lay, tired and talking shit.
“That’s okay, I don’t think I need anyone to be Team Gunner but me, right?”
“Right…” she answers as I turn on my side to face her and she does the same.
“Is it his looks? What else is it? Help me understand?” she asks truthfully.
“I can’t lie, his looks attracted me to him, but they’re not what make me stay. When I’m around him, it’s like almost nothing else matters but us. I’m drunk on him. I’m off the wagon with no help getting back on. Completely intoxicated by him.” I sigh, taking a deep breath. “He makes me feel things I haven’t felt before. Granted, most of the time it’s confusion and anger, but with that, it’s also a lust and love I can’t contain. I take him back after everything he’s ever done, and the worst part is, he only has to utter a few words and I’m back to being his.”
“That doesn’t sound all that healthy.”
Opening my eyes to look at May, I smile. “It’s probably not. But for now, I’m going to ride the wave and see where it takes me, because no one has had this effect on me before. No one makes my heart beat out of my chest like he can. It’s unfair really how much I’m willing to give him.”
“Just don’t sacrifice yourself in the process.”
“Maybe one day, I’ll be sober.” I smile.
It’s a rush because we slept in. I was meant to be at my parents’ house over an hour ago, and when I didn’t show up, my mother sent a security team to come get me. May sits next to me sipping her coffee as our hair and makeup are finished while we wait for everyone to stop running around fulfilling my mother’s orders. I wasn’t even allowed to choose the color theme, the only parts I had in any of it were the cake and the dress. I guess I didn’t have to worry about being a bridezilla, if I had nothing to do.
“It’s time, Everly. Where’s your dress?” I point to the closet where security placed it and she pulls it out. “I still can’t believe you’re wearing black. It’s not a funeral.”
“I like it,” I say with a smile while removing my dressing gown.
She holds the dress open for me to step into. I turn to look at May and see her dressed in the perfect long white dress. It’s not bridal material but it’s just as pretty. My tutu is large with the overlay of the black, and the black lace that runs down my arms is perfect. I couldn’t have picked a better dress for me.
“Oh my God.” My mother covers her mouth and tears leak from her eyes. She grips onto me and stares at me. “I didn’t want this life for you. Never. I had hoped for a boy because I never wanted my daughter not to have the choice of who she loves. But amazingly you did, despite it all, you picked the chosen one for you. So, I’m happy you got what you wanted.”
I smile.
I’m happy too. I’m not as nervous as I thought I’d be. I guess I want to see him, so the nerves aren’t gripping me whole or taking me over. Grasping my mother’s hand, I give it a small squeeze—knowing she’s happy, knowing I am happy. I’m about to marry the man I love and in doing so, I’m about to make my parents happy also. This is what they have wanted for me for so long.
I guess it’s a win-win.
“I love you, Mother.”
She kisses my cheeks and the doors open as the stylists take their leave. May hands me my bouquet as my mother leaves to take her seat, and when I walk out, my father is standing there waiting for me.
“The color,” he mutters and shakes his head. “It’s beautiful,” he manages to say even though I know he hates it. He expected me to be in all white. I hope Gunner doesn’t expect the same even if he did mention to the saleswoman that it had to be white. Too bad, I like the dress—no, I love the dress. They got their part of the deal, now it’s time to make my own.
“What if I told you right now that I won’t be having any kids?” I say smiling while taking my father’s hand as two ushers hold the doors ready to open.
I can feel his stare on me because he’s itching to say something.
“You are the best thing I ever did. I would hope you would want the same joy.”
I turn to him, my heart happy at his words. “You really believe that I’m the best thing that happened to you?”
Father’s other hand that isn’t holding my hand covers mine. “Quite simply, yes. You may not believe it because I push the old ways onto you, but I do that because I want you to have them as well. But I also want you to be the best you that you can be in this world. And you have done both. I am extremely proud of you.”
The doors open and I’m still looking at my father, speechless at his words. It’s the most sincere thing he has ever said to me. Not once has he told me he was proud of me. Instead, it was always telling me what I should and shouldn’t be doing.
“Everly,” he says with a shake to his voice.
I turn, and when I do, the backyard is the most spectacular I’ve ever seen it. Fairy lights dance with a soft glow, decorating the sky as the sun sets. I can see that the seats are rose-gold color as everyone stands to stare at me, and at the end, is a man dressed in a suit and he’s smiling.
Is he smiling, or is that his trademark smirk?
My father starts walking over a trail of white flower petals lying on the ground. May stands at the end smiling up at me. Nerves take root now that I’m about to be married to a man that I fell way too hard and fast for.
“He loves you. It’s the most I could ask for,” my father says quietly, so only I can hear him. The smile on my face is so big that when I reach Gunner, I don’t know how it can grow any larger, but somehow it does when Father places my hand into his.
“Black? You vixen,” he whispers into my ear then stands tall as if he never said anything at all.
The wedding service goes by quickly. He grips my hand the whole time and doesn’t relent. When it’s time for the rings, two simple gold bands are presented, and we kiss. When he leans in, his lips seal mine for all the promises that are to come. When he lifts me back up and everyone’s clapping, he whispers in my ear, “All mine.”
And I am.
All his.
It’s not long until we are alone for a few minutes, after we walk out of the chapel as husband and wife. And once we are, he pulls me into a room and shuts the door then pushes my back against the wall, hard.
“You’ll let me own you now, won’t you?” he asks with feverish kisses.
“You already do,” I whisper just as desperate as I kiss him.
“You’ll let me do things only a husband can do, correct?”
I nod, not having any idea what he’s talking about.
“And you’ll never leave me. Correct?” He pulls back this time and stares into my blue eyes.
My hand reaches up and touches his cheek. “I’ll never leave you,” I say confirming it to him, hopefully providing the comfort he needs.
“I would find you if you did leave, Everly. And you wouldn’t like the outcome. Do you understand? You can never leave me. You are mine. Forever.”
His words are so serious.
His eyes so dark and stormy.
Is this what makes him afraid? Is he afraid that someone else will leave him? The last people who loved him whole died—his parents. Is he afraid I will do the same?
Both of my hands cup his face, I pull him close so we are inches apart. “You and me, forever.”
“Forever,” he whispers back to me then picks me up, dress and all, so I have no choice but to hang over his arms.
A knock sounds but he doesn’t break the kiss. My father’s voice calls my name, and I push Gunner back knowing my perfec
t lipstick will now be smudged. He wipes at my lips with the base of his thumb.
“Coming,” I announce.
“Tonight, you will be,” he whispers as he places me down and I go to open the door, but he pulls me back. “Stay by my side all night.”
I smile and nod, pulling him with me as I open the door to find my parents waiting for me. They both smile.
“I want to give you your present now.” My father hands me a letter, and when I open it, I see the deed to my shop. I now own it outright. No loan to pay back, and even the ground that it’s on is now mine.
I let go of my husband and wrap my hands around my father’s shoulders. “Thank you,” I whisper as he taps my back.
“You’re welcome, angel.” He used to call me that as a child. It’s been a long time since I’ve heard that endearment. Stepping away and back to my husband’s side, my father also hands Gunner a letter. I attempt to look at it, but he slides it into his back pocket, nodding once to my father.
“Welcome to the family, Gunner. We look forward to knowing more about the man you’ve become,” my father says as my mother clings to his side.
“Dinner’s ready and your guests are waiting.”
“We will be right out,” Gunner says dismissing my parents.
They nod and walk away leaving us standing there.
Turning to face him, he isn’t happy. His whole demeanor is mixed with anger.
“What’s wrong?”
He looks to my hand and the deed I now hold. “I don’t want you working.”
I laugh at him. “You’re joking, right? Tell me you are joking.”
Gunner doesn’t say a word nor shake his head, he simply stares at me.
“I took a month off for you, that’s all you will get. I love my job, I worked hard to get my café where it is, and I will not sacrifice it.”
He touches my face softly. “You will, my wife.” Then he starts to walk out the door leaving me standing there stunned and confused.
I chase after him, pulling on his arm to make him stop. “I won’t. This is something I won’t give up.”