To Break a Vow

by Chencia C. Higgins

  “Something simple, coming right up!” Reaching under the counter, she pulled out three sheets of paper and spread them out in front of us. “These on either end are consent forms, which state that you understand that this will be an official and legal ceremony, that you aren’t under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and that you will not hold I Do With DiDi liable in the event that you both wake up tomorrow and decide you don’t want to be married. You each have to fill out one and sign the one in the middle, which is just a form for our records stating that you’ve already obtained a marriage license. Once the ceremony is complete, the officiant will sign it and then we’ll file it with the state of Nevada. There is a line for you to list your address for us to mail photos and videos from the ceremony if you chose to have them. Any questions?”

  “None for me.” Tonya looked up at me and I shook my head.

  “Nope. Seems pretty straightforward.”

  DiDi nodded and handed us each a pen that was stamped with the name of the chapel. We quickly filled out the forms, taking turns on the one we both had to sign, and handed everything back to DiDi who read over everything with a careful eye. Once she determined that everything looked good, she slid to the side and began to type onto a tablet that I hadn’t noticed.

  “Cash or credit,” she asked while still typing at the screen.

  “Credit.” Tonya and I spoke at the same time, laughing lightly as we caught each other’s eye. I pulled my wallet from my back pocket and retrieved a card, stretching to hand it to DiDi over Tonya’s hand that held a card as well.

  “What are you doing?”

  Her lips quirked. “Going half on this marriage.”

  “Nah. Not on this.” As gently as I could, while still being firm, I used my other hand to lower hers and the card she held back to her side, grateful that she allowed me to do so.

  She slipped the card back into the tiny bag that hung on a chain around her wrist and twisted her lips to the side. “I’ll concede on this one; just know that you won’t be paying for everything. I can carry my own weight. I make good money.”

  “Good,” I retorted as I scrawled my finger across the screen of the tablet after DiDi swiped my card. “I’ll show you how to invest it in real estate and create wealth that you can leave to Wisdom’s children.”

  She didn’t say anything else, those eyes like wet dirt after the rain, gazing at me wide and round. That look was a tangible thing that I wanted to tuck into my chest and hold on to forever. It chilled me, gave me goosebumps, and warmed me, bringing heat to the tips of my ears. It recalled that impulse that gripped me when her eyes first met mine. This thing I was doing with this woman that I’d just met, that I’d never kissed, never fucked, never introduced to my parents or brought to the home I grew up in, in the town I called my own, was the very thing I should be doing. She was The One. I didn’t need an admonishment to propel me into action. Only her eyes on mine. On me.

  Licking my lips, I pocketed my wallet and grabbed her hand in my own, relishing the dampness of her skin—a small attestation of her nerves—as I lifted it in the air and pressed a soft kiss to the back it.

  “You ready?”

  Licking her lips, she nodded. “I do.”

  I grinned and DiDi let out a boisterous laugh.

  “It’s not time for that just yet, Lady Bug.” The older woman rounded the counter and grabbed the both of us by the hand, bringing them to meet, squeezing her hand over ours when we took the hint and linked fingers. She touched our cheeks and looked us each in the eye.

  “You two are a good match; I can feel it.”

  Tonya’s face split into a pleased grin, which set my own smile in motion. There was a beauty mark in the crease of her left nostril and at the corner of her mouth, and I wanted to kiss both but as DiDi would say, it’s not time for that just yet.

  “You’re preachin’ to the choir, DiDi. I knew we were a good match the moment I saw her.”

  The woman laughed that loud, smoke-roughened laugh and with a wink at Tonya, instructed us to follow her down a corridor.

  “You’ve got a good one here, Lady Bug.”

  Chapter Five

  When I Now Pronounce You His & Hers

  The ceremony was a blur. I hadn’t meant to zone out on it, truly, but once you’ve had one Vegas wedding, you’ve seen the extent of what the twenty-four-hour chapels have to offer. My mind was otherwise engaged with thoughts of after the wedding.

  There was no way for me to know if he was being genuine when we arrived back at the hotel and he offered to walk me back to my suite, or if he was simply acting the part of a gentleman. I just didn’t know him well enough—or at all if I were being completely honest—which might have been sad to say for a man I had just pledged ‘til death do us part, but for the sake of being completely transparent I could admit that, presently, the only part of him I was truly interested in becoming acquainted with was encased in a pair of leather pants that fit him so well they made me want to sink my teeth into his ass. Which is why, when he asked me what floor I was staying on after we stepped on the surprisingly empty elevator at 7:53 in the morning, I looked him in the eye and told him that I was staying with my husband.

  We stepped out of the elevator onto a floor that looked identical to mine, save for the fact that there were fewer doors on either side of the wide hallway. I followed him past three doors and waited for him to let us inside, holding his phone up to a black pad on the wall under the room number. Once it lit green, he turned down the handle and pushed open the door, allowing me to enter before him.

  He didn’t have much to say once we were inside—actually, he hadn’t said much since we’d said our I do’s, and maybe that would have raised a red flag if it weren’t for his constant yawning. Clearly, he was tired and since it was now after eight in the morning, I’d even venture to say that he might be exhausted. With that in mind, I was unsure of my next move. Looking at this incredibly attractive man and knowing that he wasn’t just mine for the night but in a legal sense, as well, had me impossibly horny, but I didn’t want to be insensitive. On top of that, I was feeling a little tired myself. Not too tired to fuck him once, at least, but definitely too tired to get on top, which was a problem because that was undeniably my favorite position.

  Bypassing the couch completely, I sat on the edge of the bed, planting my hands behind me and leaning back on my arms, watching him intently as he moved about the room. Standing at the dresser that held the large flat screen television, he removed all of the rings and bracelets from both hands, setting the adornments on the dresser. He moved methodically like this was second nature to him, and I was captivated. Watching him performing even menial tasks was fascinating to me. Once he fished his wallet out of his back pocket and added it to the pile, he grabbed the executive chair from the desk and rolled it over to the bed, sitting down and pulling my foot into his lap in one smooth motion.

  With deft fingers, he unhooked the buckles on my platform heel, placed it beside him on the floor, and gripping my foot tightly, he began to knead the flesh.

  “Any activities planned for today?”

  Hands that knew exactly where to go and how much pressure to use pulled a soft moan of satisfaction out of me before I could filter it into a less telling grunt. Clearing my throat, I attempted to answer his question.

  “Unfortunately, yes. There is a jazz brunch at eleven but thankfully, it’s the last event of the weekend because our flight leaves at six. Mmm. What about you?”

  He moved on to the second foot, placing the shoe alongside the other and digging his thumbs into my arch. “I was supposed to meet J and Lisa for breakfast in,” he glanced somewhere behind me and I turned to see the digital clock on the nightstand, “about an hour, but that’s obviously canceled.”

  As soon as he said that, I started to pull my foot out of his lap. “Oh, I can go to my own room so you can do your thing—”

  He stopped me from completing my sentence by tapping me on the calf. “I highl
y doubt my brother will make an appearance at that breakfast. I’ll catch up with them later. Right now, you and I need to take a nap. I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a long day.”

  I nodded. “God, yes! I’ve been up since seven because Toy wanted to try an authentic Vegas-style buffet. From there, we’ve been ripping and running. And now…it’s been more than twenty-four hours since I’ve had any sleep.”

  “Exactly.” He dropped my foot and pushed back in the chair, moving it back into its place under the desk, then coming to stand in front of me. “Stand up.”

  I scrambled to my feet, eager to see what was next on his agenda. Hopefully, it was dick. Lots of dick.

  “Turn around.”

  When I did so, he brushed my hair to the side of my neck and asked me to hold it while he searched the top of my dress for the tab of the zipper. Once he found it, he pulled it down incredibly slowly—almost teasingly—stopping just before he reached the dip in my spine where my ass became exposed. I turned around to see that he’d stepped a few feet away from me and shoved his hands in his pockets—a feat I hadn’t thought possible.

  “What is it?” What I’d wanted to ask was “Why’d you stop?” but I wasn’t that bold.

  “I stopped because I don’t want to.”

  “Um. What?” That didn’t make a lick of sense and I couldn’t even pretend.

  “Listen, I want to continue undressing you, and but if I don’t stop touching you right now I’m likely to fall asleep while I’m inside of you and that’s not a good way to start a marriage.”

  He’d voiced my exact concerns, but words weren’t tangible, I needed to see his attraction to me. I needed to know that he wasn’t just saying this because he had just now come to the conclusion that I wasn’t a slim, slender, skinny—or any combination of those things—woman. Facing the bed, I reached behind me to finish lowering the zipper of my dress and shimmied my shoulders to get it to fall forward. And because I was trying to be sexy on purpose, instead of pooling at my feet like a dress with some fucking sense would, the damn thing hung limply at my waist, stopped by the excess of flesh at my belly that had yet to disappear despite my “baby” recently becoming a preteen. Annoyed that I wasn’t getting the penis that I now deserved as a married woman, I shoved the fabric to the floor and stepped out of it unceremoniously, trying—and failing—not to stomp over to the bed, where I threw back the duvet and climbed beneath the sheets.

  Instantly, my annoyance dissipated as I sank into the silkiest sheets I’d ever been privileged to touch. I scissored my legs back and forth, absorbing the cold and creating a cocoon of my body heat. I unsnapped my bra and dropped it on the side of the bed, relishing in the cool against my warm nipples. These had to be some six thousand thread count sheets. Further proof that the bed was higher quality than the one in my own room was the lack of dip in the mattress when Jereth climbed in behind me. I jumped when his hand touched mine.

  “Do you like to cuddle?”

  Shrugging, I wiggled my hips to burrow deeper under the covers, beside myself with how damn good the bed felt. It was like a different world fifteen floors above the room that now only felt good enough for a peasant. “I’m not opposed to cuddling.” Especially if it’s my vagina cuddling your penis.

  The thrill that zipped through me as he grabbed my hips and hauled me backward against his solid body was sudden and almost embarrassing. He hadn’t been rough about it, but his movements were confident and commanding. There’d been no hesitation and I found that assuredness sexy as hell.

  “Is this okay?” His face was buried in my neck, breath tickling me and stirring something low in my belly simultaneously.

  Afraid that my want would be heard in my voice, all I could do was nod, but he wasn’t satisfied with that response. He squeezed me and I wanted so badly to press my ass against his crotch where he’d been careful to keep some space between us.

  “Uh uhn. I want your words. ”

  Swallowing thickly, I licked my lips. “Yes.”

  “Yes, what?”

  “It’s okay.”

  “What’s okay?”

  Tired of the back and forth that wasn’t penetration or a tongue on my clit, I sucked my teeth. “Not your teasing, that’s for damn sure!”

  His lips touched the back of my neck and an involuntary shudder ran through me.

  “It’s not my intention to tease you, I promise. Verbal communication is very important to me. I never want assumptions or misunderstandings to be a problem for us. Do you understand?”

  What the hell could I say to that?

  “Yes, I understand.”

  I felt him nod. “Now, answer my question.”

  “It is perfectly okay for you to rub your dick against my ass and fondle my titties while we lay on these fancy-ass, nine thousand thread count Peruvian alpaca sheets.”

  He nipped at my shoulder, blunt teeth just barely grazing my skin, and it was both all the way and not at all crazy how comfortable I was being nearly naked and wrapped up in his arms.

  “Good. Come straight here after your brunch. I promise to get you to the airport on time.” Voice gruff with sleep, his arms tightened around my waist following his utterance, and I knew if I did nothing else, I would have my ass at the door to his room as soon as the last mimosa was swallowed down.

  Chapter Six

  When Consummate By Any Other Name Is Still Fucking

  Even with only two hours of sleep, I was energized as I waited for Tonya to return to me. Now that my initial impulse had been satisfied, all I could think about was possessing her in the best way possible. After walking her to the elevator I made quick work of breakfast, grabbing something from one of the hotel’s many restaurants before stopping by the onsite jeweler and returning to my room to shower and prepare. With Tonya flying back to Houston soon, I knew I had to make every minute count.

  At 12:45 p.m. the doorbell rang. When I opened the door and saw her standing on the other side, I had to admit to myself that I wasn’t sure if she would come back. We’d done a thing frowned upon by most law-abiding people and not even for one of the handfuls of reasons they might excuse it. While she hadn’t given off the vibe that she had a problem with what we did, the power of the sisterhood could be pretty convincing, and Latoya surely sang her disapproval to the entire bachelorette brunch squad.

  But.

  None of that happened, and here she stood in front of me, proving my fears unnecessary. She looked amazing in the lemon-yellow, wide-leg palazzo pants and purple tube-top with ruching down the front and attached armbands. The outfit combination complemented her shape well and while the colors looked good against her skin, still, I couldn’t wait to get her out of it. Stepping to the side, I pushed back the door so she could enter.

  “I have three hours.”

  She tossed the words at me as she passed by, dropping her clutch on the couch and kicking off her chunky boots that barely brushed her ankles. I released the door, letting it close heavily before engaging the deadbolt.

  “Didn’t I promise to have you at the airport on time?”

  “Well, yeah, but I’m just reminding you.” She bent at the waist, gathering all of her hair into one hand and securing it into a thick bun at the top of her head with an elastic band she produced from who knows where.

  I sat on the couch. “Come here.”

  She didn’t even hesitate, padding barefoot over to stand in between my spread knees. Splaying my fingers across her waist, I gripped her in what would be considered a safe zone—not on her hips or ass and nowhere near her breasts. I had every intention of traveling to those places, but we needed to make some things clear first. Head tilted back, I stared into her eyes, searching for any trace of uncertainty or regret or even fear.

  All I saw was hunger.

  And damn if it didn’t catch on to the ever-burning flame of want inside of me.

  “Before anything happens, I want to make sure we’re on the same page.”

  Her hands cam
e to my shoulders, she leaned into me.

  “I want everything.” She breathed the words onto my face, and I inhaled them in, the sweet scent of orange juice and prosecco tainting the air.

  I quirked a brow. “What is everything?”

  “Look, there is no need to bullshit. I can tell by the way you dress that you fuck differently. You look like the type of man to be into spiritual awakenings and crystal charging and shit like that. Like you’ll have me on a crying jag, having a mental breakthrough while coming at the same damn time. Plus, you walk like your dick is heavy.” She fixed her eyes on me. “I want all of that shit. Give it to me.”

  Licking my lips, I couldn’t do shit else but grin. She had me pegged to within a fucking millimeter, and I was both impressed and proud to have connected myself to a woman so intuitive. Leaning forward, I pressed a kiss to her abdomen. First things, first. Pulling the velvet, turquoise box out of my pocket, I cracked it open and held it up to her.

  “This is for you.”

  Her eyes widened as they took in the contents of the box. “Oh my god. What is this?”

  “It’s a ring.”

  Perfectly plump lips pursed. “Oh, so you’re a smartass?”

  I chuckled. “That, I am. Look, we’re already married; why does an engagement ring have to be a bigger deal than that? I’m not trying to trivialize this moment, but let’s be honest here; in the grand scheme of things, this is just jewelry. Your signature on that certificate was the real big deal. This right here is simply for my own peace of mind. This is so every man you meet from here on out understands that you are no longer an option for him. It’s entirely selfish of me, but it’s the truth. You’re mine now and you can ask J; I’ve never been good at sharing.”

  Darkened eyes peered down at me from beneath heavy lids. “That should not turn me on as much as it does. Fuck.”

  I grinned and plucked ring out of the box, sliding it effortlessly onto her designated finger. “Is selfish your thing?” The round carat set in platinum looked fantastic on her, and it was my mission to free of her everything she wore except for her ring. The ring I put on her finger.