In response to Brannon’s quiet rant, Denny shrugged. “It’s probably partial to having him bring along some loose bit who’s rogered the groom.”
“Speak English, you fucker,” Brannon scowled.
“He didn’t want to be a groomsman anyway,” Cody explained. “He was afraid he’d get paired up with some chick who might get territorial and needy. I think he’s hoping to score one or two desperate wedding attendees, even though I tried to tell him it was going to be a small thing. He’s just sure there’ll be one or two hot little targets, though.”
“Okay,” Cody’s mother exhaled as she came into the small room in the back of the church where we were getting ready. “Justin just got here. There’s about three hundred candles out there now, all lit. Your dad has brought a couple of the propane heaters and has scattered them here and there to keep everyone toasty warm. Let the storm come. We’re ready to make your little family whole, son.”
“Thanks, Mom,” Cody grinned up at her. With a kiss on the little blonde head resting against his chest, he started waking up Max. “Hey, buddy,” he murmured. Baby blue eyes opened up to sleepily smile back. “Shall we go out to the church to see the prettiest woman in the world?”
As it turned out, we did lose power. Somehow, though, it made everything seem a little more perfect. The lights went out, leaving the church to bask in the warm glow of hundreds of candles.
I stood up at the front on the end next to Denny, still kind of marveling that Cody had no doubts. No concerns. I hadn’t expected him of all people to get cold feet, but he seemed so sure that it was almost unnerving. Of course, he’d kinda been like that ever since he met Ilsa. He had never wavered, not even when things seemed impossible.
We watched down the aisle as Brannon’s sister, Mira, who had sort of become almost like a big sister to Cody over the years, came towards us holding Eoghan’s hand on one side and Max’s on the other. Each little boy clutched a silver pillow that they gave to Justin before Mira guided them over to the front pew to sit down.
Then Raven appeared in the doorway.
In the candlelight, her pale skin seemed somewhat pearlescent against the steely grey satin of her dress. The sheen from the fabric almost seemed to reflect the violet strands of her hair. The dress itself was fairly simple, especially in light of the complexity of what she usually wore. The slim-fitting satin fell from her bare shoulders, interrupted by lengths of ribbon wrapped around her torso. It accentuated her slender waist, reminiscent of a corset in a very Raven way, but softer. Silky. Almost wispy.
Touchable.
Felicity followed behind her, her dress a similar color, but a different cut and edged in a thick lace. Then Sophie, again in grey satin in yet another design that reminded me of a silver screen movie star. And last, of course, came Ilsa.
She shone in her white dress, perfect for a winter wedding with tiny sparkling crystals that scattered lightly across her arms and fitted waist to intensify at the flared hem of the skirt. It was like a freshly fallen snow on a sunny Montana day, and every movement glimmered in the candlelight around us. Long sleeves extended just past her wrists, looping up to catch her thumb, and the wide-scooped neckline ended at the gentle curve of her shoulder. She wore no veil, but her hair fell long and smooth down her back, pulled back from her face with a brilliant headband.
Simple. Elegant. Stunning.
For a second when she appeared, I thought Cody was going to faint. One of the only times I’d ever seen him actually kind of lose his cool. He froze solid. The dude seriously stopped breathing. I swear his heart quit beating for a moment.
Just as I started to worry a little that he was going to lose his shit, he recovered, smiling wider with every step she took until she stood before him.
And then he sorta put the cart before the horse by pulling her close and pressing a firm, deep kiss to her lips.
“Uh, son,” his dad murmured from the front row where he sat with his arm around Cody’s mom, “you’re supposed to do that at the end.”
A light chuckle filtered through the small crowd, but Cody barely noticed. He brushed his thumb against Ilsa’s cheek and smiled down at her.
That tingle in my chest, the one that had plagued me earlier, began again. As I watched Cody marry the love of his life, I looked across at Raven. She suddenly appeared incredibly fragile. The hollow just above her collar bones stood out in the low candlelight, deepening with each shaky breath. She blinked away the faint sparkle of tears in her eyes and caught her trembling lip in her teeth as the couple said their vows. As they promised themselves and their lives to each other.
For a moment, her gaze swept over to me, haunted in appearance. I almost thought she was going to bolt for a second, but she quickly dropped her gaze, turning back to watch Cody kiss his bride once again… this time on cue.
In the back of the church was a reception area with a small kitchen off the side. There was cake and hors d'oeuvres. Cody’s older brother, who had been Cody’s driving force to get into music in the first place, brought his band to set up in the corner. Everything was low key and easy, but perfect for the occasion. As the wind blew outside and snow fell in deep drifts, the little celebration took place.
Raven stayed fairly close to Felicity, feeling a slight sense of kinship with Denny’s colorful wife. She held Eoghan as she watched as the ten or so couples in attendance danced. She chatted with Brannon’s sister and even with Sophie who, like I had imagined, chose not to hold anything against her for her slight transgression so long ago. She gave Ilsa a hug, letting just the slightest wave of emotion cross her face before she quickly shut it down.
And through all of this, she avoided me.
At first, I thought it might have just been my imagination. Me being hypersensitive, maybe a little remnant of Maggie’s rejection that still jerked me around.
But it became more obvious that she really was avoiding me, which set me off a little. If I headed over to talk to her, she suddenly slipped into the kitchen to get more food for the buffet table. Or she’d disappear into the bathroom and then sneak out when I was turned the other way.
The real kicker was when she left, out into the dark winter night all alone… without so much as saying goodbye.
I hadn’t even realized she’d gone.
It was Felicity who told me, inadvertently.
I was nursing a bottle of Bud as I stood there with Brannon, watching Cody dancing with Ilsa and holding Max in between them. Cody’s little family.
Brannon caught sight of Sophie who crooked her finger at him.
“You’re being paged,” I grinned.
“Yeah,” Brannon breathed. He never quite seemed to get over the sheer awe of her. The guy had been in love with her for years, never thinking she’d give him the time of day… until she did. “Later, dude.”
He crossed the room to take her into his arms, touching his forehead to hers and closing his eyes in a reverence that matched the expression on Sophie’s face. It was almost too touching. Too sweet. Like watching would give me cavities or some shit.
“It was nice to see Raven here tonight,” Felicity murmured, interrupting my thoughts as she stepped up beside me. “She seems great.”
At the mention of her name, I instantly looked around the room, trying to catch a glimpse of her violet hair, then frowned when I failed to do so. My eyebrows narrowed.
“Where is she now?”
Felicity looked startled. “She left… about ten minutes ago. You didn’t know that?”
My gut clenched, but I did my best to hide the internal pang of rejection that gnawed at me… again. I shook my head with a shrug. “No, but it isn’t really like that,” I said flatly. “We’re just… fuck buddies.”
Felicity didn’t respond, and I glanced down at her. She was watching me carefully, one perfectly arched eyebrow raised.
“Don’t look at me like that,” I scowled. “The girl is totally anti-love. Anti-serious. The last thing I need is to get all fucked up
over another heartless chick.”
“Maggie was heartless, Drew,” she replied. “That bitch was cold. But Raven?” Felicity gave a small shake of her head. “I don’t think Raven is so much. Just a hunch.”
“Okay, so maybe she’s just got a lot of baggage. At any rate, things are about as involved as they’re going to get between us, so quit trying to be a matchmaker.”
“We all just want you to be happy,” she smiled sadly.
Cody’s brother announced the last dance, and Felicity smiled over at Denny who beckoned her closer with a nod of his head. She took a step, but then hesitated and looked up at me.
“The thing is, Drew, women often don’t say what they think. What they really want. I wanted Denny from the first time I saw him, but I fought it for so long because I was so afraid that he wouldn’t want me. That I was damaged and beyond salvation. We almost didn’t happen because neither one of us could see through what the other was saying.”
“You guys were the lucky ones,” I replied. “Not many people get happily ever after.”
“Just… sometimes what you want most is right in front of you. You just have to look beneath the surface.”
I watched her walk away to her husband, envying Denny more than I ever had before. Not necessarily jealous of Felicity, although she was a stunner. More though because, watching him with his wife, the look of pure completion on his face as he held her, I realized that I wanted that, too.
I realized I wanted that with Raven.
A shitload of snow had fallen during the wedding, and the roads felt like pure ice underneath it. Thank fuck for sandbags and studded tires because my mind was completely full of Raven as I left the church.
Justin had managed to hook up with some chick at the wedding after all, telling her how the deep love of his friends had inspired him to become ordained so he could be the one who married them. Of course, it was complete shit. He’d done it so he could have a pickup line just like the one he was using, the one that worked, the one that got him her room number at the Hampton Inn in Butte where he’d be spending the night.
So I was headed home to an empty house. Cody and Ilsa had left the reception to drive to Fairmont Hot Springs where they’d spend their first night as man and wife. Cody’s folks were set to take Max home with them for a few days to give the newlyweds some precious alone time, or naked time more likely. Denny and Felicity left shortly thereafter with Eoghan crashed once again on Denny’s shoulder, followed by Brannon and Sophie who looked exhausted and ecstatic and so very in love.
So I headed down the quiet snow-covered streets and found myself in front of Ink instead of my house.
The shop was dark and cold as I unlocked the door and made my way to the office. Flicking on my low desk light, I shuffled through the papers until I saw the sketch I’d drawn of Raven. Felicity’s words floated through my mind in an endless loop.
Sometimes what you want most is right in front of you. You just have to look beneath the surface.
I sat at my desk and pulled out a pencil and began to add a little detail to the sketch. A little highlighting around her eyes until it felt like they were piercing my soul. Until I could almost feel a hidden pain that she didn’t want me to see.
For the longest time, I stared at the penciled drawing. Her perfection. Her beauty.
Her mask.
Then I stood suddenly and dug through the filing cabinet until I found what I wanted.
Raven’s address.
I pulled up to the small apartment, built off the end of the garage in the dark alley. I hoped like hell that this was really her place, that she hadn’t moved since she started working for me and put this address down on her paperwork. It was almost one in the morning, and the thought of knocking on some stranger’s door was almost enough to make me drive away.
But, thankfully, there was her Jeep, parked by the door.
At first, it didn’t look like a single light was on inside, but as I came closer to the door, I could see a faint glow through a thin gap in the curtains alongside it. Not really enough to see inside, but enough to think she was maybe still awake.
I hesitated for a moment, wondering just how she was going to react to seeing me here. Raven was always so warm, so welcoming and comforting and… everything. But tonight after our gazes had connected during the wedding, she’d done everything she could to keep her distance.
Maybe the novelty has worn off.
Taking a deep breath, I knocked lightly on the door and listened for movement. Nothing. The snow began to fall again in heavy flakes, quickly settling on my shoulders. I rapped on the door once more, a little louder, and waited. After what seemed like forever, there was a click of the latch and she stood before me.
She hadn’t changed yet. She still wore the silvery-gray dress. The ribbons still wound around her waist, begging my fingers to loosen them. She looked up at me as the flickering flames from her woodstove danced in the darkness around the room.
I wanted to ask her why. Why did she avoid me? Why did she leave without even saying goodbye? Why did everything with her suddenly seem like it was slipping away just when it started feeling real?
But before I could say anything at all, though, she launched herself into my arms. She threw her arms around my neck and kissed me, hard and fervently. She pulled me inside with her and pushed the door closed.
My words died in my throat. I couldn’t stop her because I wasn’t sure I wanted the answers.
I just wanted her.
So I held her with everything in me. I kissed her back and loosened the ribbons of her dress, mesmerized by the slide of the satin as it floated to the floor to reveal her smooth, creamy skin. We stumbled to the couch where she pushed me down to sit and slip off her strapless bra and underwear to stand naked before me. I leaned forward to nip at the tattoos across her stomach, sliding my hands around to cup her ass. To pull her closer, lifting a little until she was pressed tight against me, straddling me on the couch. I was still fully clothed, and the chill from my suit triggered goosebumps across her skin. Her nipples hardened with cold and excitement, and I leaned down to capture one in my mouth, flicking the ring with my tongue.
“Drew,” she gasped in a shaky whisper.
Her hips tilted slightly and her fingers wove through my short hair, every movement drawing me that much closer.
She shifted against me, grazing my rapidly swelling junk with her core, and I twisted us to push her beneath me. I left her exquisite breasts to take her lips again, moaning deep into her throat as she frantically began to push the jacket from my shoulders. Arching up at the waist, I yanked the garment off, then tore at my shirt to pull it off as well. Raven’s fingers found my fly, and she quickly freed my dick, pushing my pants and boxers down my legs with her cold little feet. Her nails dug into my ass as she spread her legs wide, desperately urging me to bury myself inside her.
And I paused. Just for a second to study her.
She looked so… perfect below me. Perfect in that her eyeliner was smudged dark around her eyes. Her lips were swollen with the force of our kiss. Her breathing coming in quick, sharp gasps.
“Drew, please,” she breathed.
I couldn’t have pulled back if the world had been falling to pieces around me. Not with her sweet, desperate plea whispered in the firelight.
Reaching down, I grasped my dick firmly and grazed the pierced head down the wetness between her wide-open thighs. She lifted her hips to urge me inside, but I resisted just a second, pressing the bottom bead of my apa against her clit and rubbing my cock against her in little circles.
“God, Drew. Fuck me,” Raven cried out, the sound echoing in the small apartment. “Please. Please.”
So I pushed inside her, sliding into her slick heat and groaning deep and rough when her nails dug into my ass. Her body rippled around my throbbing dick. Every tremor that coursed through her coaxed me deeper.
“Do you have any idea how amazing you feel, Raven?” I grated out as
she took me fully inside. “How amazing you are?”
Her eyes shot open, startled and needy. I circled my hips, and she slammed them shut, arching against me, but clawing me closer.
“God,” I groaned against her neck, “I could live inside you. Your pussy is the closest thing to heaven I’ve ever found.”
With a gentle tilt of her pelvis, she began to rock against me. With me. Pulling me into bliss. We lost ourselves in the soft, fevered touch until the fire died down and we lay breathless and spent in each other’s arms.
It was still dark when Raven’s phone rang. Calls in the middle of the night were seldom good things.
We were still on the couch, still naked, but she had pulled a quilt over the top of us.
We still hadn’t spoken really at all, aside from the heated murmurs and gasps during sex.
Raven reached for my dark gray dress shirt, wrinkled and slightly worse for the wear, and pulled it on over her bare body as she stepped to the kitchen counter in the open little apartment. She grabbed her phone and looked at the display.
“Shit,” she whispered, then pressed the button and held the phone up to her ear. “Joe?”
Her uncle.
Fuck. Not good. Not at this time of night.
“Is she okay?” Raven whispered after a moment, then was quiet waiting for the response. “But is she okay?” she asked more sternly. “Joe—” She suddenly stopped short and closed her eyes. “Okay, I’m coming right away.”
By this time, I’d stood, wrapping the blanket around my hips, and came to stand before her as she ended the call.
“Your mom?” I asked.
Raven nodded, not looking up.
“She okay?”
“I don’t know,” she whispered. “He wouldn’t tell me.”
I cupped her face in my hands and pulled her worried gaze up to meet mine. “Get dressed. I'll drive you.”
Evanescent Ink (Copperline #4) Page 13